SIMON Cox today admitted his relief at ending his goal famine – and pledged to bounce back with more for Nottingham Forest next season.
The striker had not scored in 26 appearances, but swept home confidently to put the Reds ahead after only three minutes against Leicester City yesterday.
Forest ultimately lost 3-2 to miss out on a play-off place amid an afternoon of high drama at the City Ground.
Cox believes the Reds can look back on their season with pride, after narrowly missing out on a place in the top six. But he also admits that netting has taken a weight off his own shoulders.
"Leicester are clearly my team, if you look at my record. I have a good record of scoring against them," he said. "I think my previous goal was against Leicester as well.
"If I could play them every week, I would be very happy. I was trying to get a goal for a lot of games, but it was not to be.
"I chipped in with a few more assists than I might have expected and five or six goals on top of that. It is not a great season, scoring wise, but in terms of being a team player, I am happy with what I have contributed.
"I enjoyed it, because it was a massive weight off my shoulders. I could sense that it was going to be, against Leicester.
"Just on the basis that, whenever I play them, I seem to score. Everyone in the dressing room was telling me it was going to be the day; that I was going to be man that got us the important goal."
Cox admits he thought Forest were going to secure a play-off place after he had put them ahead.
"It looked that way in the first 15 minutes, but we just were not able to hold on in that first half," he said. "Our plan was to shoot out of the blocks as quick as we could; to get into the lead and try to keep fate in our own hands.
"We scored early – but it is disappointing because we had it in our own hands. We equalised to make it 2-2 and we wanted to go and get the winner after that, but it was not to be.
"We can look back with pride on the season. With all the changes that have gone on, with the additions we made in the summer – we had a brand new team – and the three changes in manager, the lads can take massive pride."
