Nottingham Forest boss clarifies why Super Eagles star was absent in Aston Villa draw

Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira came under scrutiny after leaving Taiwo Awoniyi out of consecutive matchday squads, Afrik Foot reports.

The Super Eagles striker came off the bench in the Reds’ 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, scoring the game’s third goal on the 22nd of March.

However, he’s not gotten another minute since then, prompting questions from fans amidst the club’s hectic schedule.

Nottingham Forest boss explains Awoniyi’s absence against Aston Villa

Chris Wood’s return, ultimately, has displaced Awoniyi’s already limited minutes, and that was clarified by Vitor Pereira, following their draw against Villa at the City Ground.

“I’m very happy with my players. When you prepare for a game and decide your squad, you think about what problems you might have,” the Portuguese coach said in quotes revealed by Nottingham Post.

“If I have a problem with my striker (Igor), I have Chris Wood on the bench.

“If I want to play with two strikers, Igor didn’t play 90 minutes in the last game (against Porto) and is in condition to play, so if I want to play with both, I can play with both.

“I need to have solutions for the wingers. I need to have solutions for the midfielders. It was not about Taiwo or about Lucca, it was about the balance of the list.

“The schedule is the schedule. I am trying to balance and compete in two competitions, but it is not easy.

“Imagine if I had played with the same team as against Porto. In my opinion, I believe we would not have had chance to compete with this team because it is impossible to recover.

“They (Villa) used the same players, but they are a team who can adapt to play every three days, and they have been working together for a long time.

“I remember the game against Liverpool (a 1-0 defeat), we had the game (against Fenerbahce) before, and if you remember it was a very good first half but we suffered a lot in the second half because I felt my team was not in the condition to compete in the same level. We learn with experience.

“We have gone five games (in all competitions) without losing, we shouldn’t forget that. If we get points from every game until the end of the season, I will be happy,” Pereira concluded.

Despite their domestic woes, Nottingham Forest can get into the UEFA Europa League semi-final if they defeat FC Porto on Thursday.

However, Awoniyi will be absent for three straight games as he wasn’t registered in Forest’s Europa squad.