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Bold Nottingham Forest boss Stuart Pearce believes changes worked well in Leeds draw

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IF Stuart Pearce has demonstrated anything, it is that he is not afraid to make bold decisions.

There were plenty of raised eyebrows prior to kick-off against Leeds United, as the Nottingham Forest manager not only vastly altered his side's formation, but also chose to leave top scorer Britt Assombalonga on the bench.

There were only two changes to the personnel, with Jamie Paterson also relegated to a place among the substitutes, but there was a very different look to the team, with five players moved into new positions.

Eric Lichaj and Danny Fox were drafted into a three-man central defence alongside Kelvin Wilson, Jack Hunt and Michail Antonio were utilised as wing backs and Michael Mancienne was handed a defensive midfield role.

After a slow start, as Forest found their feet within their new approach, they produced a performance that should have earned them three points – and would have done if not for two goals that were disallowed in controversial fashion in the 1-1 draw, coupled with a flurry of fine saves from Macro Silvestri.

With Leeds favouring a narrow midfield diamond, Forest made the most of their attacking width – and Pearce says it is a formation Forest may utilise again in the future.

"We have used it during matches before, when the formation has got us back into matches and got us back on the front foot a little bit," said Pearce. "I think there are a lot of players in our ranks who work well in this formation; who suit that approach.

"Foxy enjoys playing inside and it gives us the opportunity to push Mancienne forward and give us more legs and bite in midfield.

"I think it is one we will look at, but whether we will take it to Middlesbrough or not, I am not sure. We felt that worked quite well, the 3-5-2 scenario. The boys took that on well, they worked hard on it during the week. Credit to them for that.

"The formation was with Leeds in mind, yes, because they play a tight diamond shape. They allow the opposition the freedom in wide positions."

An injury to Dexter Blackstock ensured Assombalonga got his chance before half-time.

"In regard to leaving Britt out of the side, it was nothing to do with the formation, because we played two strikers in the side. It was just a personnel judgement call from myself," said Pearce.

"We hope Dexter just has a nerve problem; we hope that it is not too serious. We could not take a change on that, following his injury problems.

"Dexter has done well and Matty has done well, that was the situation. And where Britt is concerned, we are dealing with a 22-year-old.

"He is a young boy who is learning his trade. He will keep improving, but he has to keep learning."

"Now we will do our same preparation, with an eye on Middlesbrough who are playing well. We will go up there trying to win the game, if we cannot do that, we will look to secure a point.

"We will go into the Middlesbrough game and pick the best side, without having one eye on the Birmingham game. Then we will see how we come out of the game and look at the recovery of the players, before the Birmingham game."

Goalscorer Matty Fryatt and Antonio stood out when it came to Forest's attacking threat.

But there was also a much improved display from Henri Lansbury, who looked to be back to something close to his best, in the centre of the pitch.

"He showed good energy and we got him in more advanced positions on the pitch and that is the trick for Henri, I think. With Mancienne behind him, it freed him up to get forward," said Pearce.

"Sometimes with Henri he gets caught between wanting to get on the ball and dropping too deep to do so, which robs him of that ability to get around the edge of the opposition box, where he can get efforts on goal away.

"That is where I feel he can be at his best."

While Pearce felt his side had done enough to merit a win, he also knows they are capable of better.

"I am very disappointed. We created chances but we are our own biggest enemy. Their goal came from our counter attack, when we gave a cheap ball away and, the next minute, we were giving away a sloppy penalty," he said. "We feel that, at the moment, the opposition have not got to work too hard to get rewards in the game, which is frustrating.

"I believe it was a penalty, yes. I think we should have defended better, to be honest with you. We are struggling to build that momentum, but that momentum will come when we put to bed that little bit of nervousness that we have about our play.

"We need to show a little more composure on the ball, we need to show a little more character on the ball. Once we have that, we know we have good athletes and good footballers in the side. We know we are playing under par at this moment in time."

Bold Nottingham Forest boss Stuart Pearce believes changes worked well in Leeds draw


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