Nottingham Forest showed are back in the Premier League after 23 years away, as the sleeping giant of English football won the Championship playoff final against Huddersfield.

Forest had their luck in the final and it was a scrappy game, but most would agree they were the most worthy of promotion based on their recent performances. For the neutral fans it’s also a romantic return for a club with so much history. Not many Forest fans in attendance at Wembley would have remembered their successes in Europe in 1979 and 1980, but the younger fans do now have a Premier League campaign to look forward to.

When Forest manager Steve Cooper took over in September, Forest were bottom of the Championship after eight games. This is the first time ever that the team at the bottom of the league after eight games has gone on to be promoted to the Premier League. 

Now it will be a case of aiming for survival as a first goal, as is the case with any newly promoted side in arguably the most challenging league in the world. They will want to tie down some of their loanees that helped them win promotion, with extended loans or permanent moves, and if they can add depth to the squad it will help their chances. If they’re successful next season it will be about building on successes by strengthening the team from there.

The biggest thing for them is putting the structure in place to make sure the promotion is for a long time instead of a short journey like Norwich has experienced the last few seasons. 

Forest is a club with some interesting history in the top flight, and ff they can bypass this season and make sure the following season they show the first wasn’t down to luck, they are looking at starting a new journey following the footsteps of their past. #mmlove