Ex-Nottingham Forest defender Kelvin Wilson says Taiwo Awoniyi “needs to start firing now” if the club is to stand any chance of preserving its topflight status.
The Reds have flirted with the bottom half of the Premier League for some time now and currently occupy the 17th position, just three points above the relegation zone.
Despite replacing Steve Cooper with Nuno Espirito Santo in the managerial dugout last December, results on the pitch are yet to improve.
Forest have won just two of their last 11 matches in all competitions, while in the Premier League, they are winless in their last three games. The club has also badly struggled in front of goal, having failed to find the back of the net in each of their last three outings.
Wilson says time is running out for Awoniyi to bail Forest out
When Forest ignited a late rally to survive relegation last season, Taiwo Awoniyi played a huge part by scoring some crucial goals in that run.
However, the Nigeria international has lacked consistency this season after being hampered by a groin injury that caused him to miss nearly three months of action, including the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) in Ivory Coast.
Awoniyi’s numbers are still decent, though, with the striker accounting for six goals and three assists in the 17 games he’s played in the Premier League this season despite still working his way to full fitness.
However, Wilson – who had two spells with Forest from 2007 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2016 – believes time is running out for Awoniyi to step up and bail the club out of its current struggles. The 38-year-old Englishman said Forest do not have the luxury of waiting for the Nigerian to fully recover before rediscovering his form.
“Have we got time to be patient? Time is running out but we need him [Awoniyi] to start firing now. I know he’s been injured but the pressure is on and we need him to perform,” Wilson said on the Forest Focus podcast.
“Ideally, we’d be mid-table and we could keep bringing him on for the last 20 minutes to get his fitness up. We don’t have the luxury to give him time, we need him to be scoring goals.”
Taiwo Awoniyi and Forest facing relegation battle
Forest’s limping form in the Premier League has seen them drop into the relegation battle. Although Espirito Santo’s side are currently outside the drop zone, only three points separate them and 18th-placed Luton Town.
It is increasingly looking like Sheffield United and Burnley – both of whom have a paltry 14 points after 28 rounds of matches – would fill up the bottom two positions.
The battle for who is likely to join the aforementioned duo to the Championship is, however, far from decided, with only five points between Luton and 14th-placed Crystal Palace.
Forest would, therefore, need Awoniyi and every other player on the roster to step up in the final 10 league games to stand any chance of survival. The Reds were in a similar situation last season when they were rooted in the relegation zone as of April 2023, but they turned things around with a strong finish to the campaign, impressively garnering 11 points from their last six matches to maintain their topflight status.
Taiwo Awoniyi reaches 50 appearances for Forest
Meanwhile, Taiwo Awoniyi made his 50th appearance for Forest in last weekend’s Premier League defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 26-year-old joined the English side from Union Berlin for a £17 million fee in the summer of 2022 and has quickly established himself as a key figure at the City Ground.
In his debut season, Awoniyi netted 10 times in the Premier League and is on his way to matching, or even bettering that return in the current campaign after scoring six times already.
