Sean Dyche wants a different perspective but Nottingham Forest shrugs off concerns after defeat to Aston Villa

On the opening weekend of 2025, Forest beat Wolves 3-0 to consolidate their position in the top three of the Premier League.

This was the sixth win in a row, which the club has not achieved in the First Division in one season since 1966-1967, and is five points ahead of Newcastle in fifth place.

Now, it’s four straight defeats for the first time since November-December 2023, a run that ended with Steve Cooper losing his job at the City Ground.

Daiichi is already Forest’s third manager this season and SOS went for it in October after Angie Postecoglou’s short and devastating spell.

The former Everton and Burnley boss started well, but the decline in organisation, focus and form – especially of late – has been drastic.

At Villa they were undone by simple errors: a mass substitution to allow Ollie Watkins to open the scoring was followed by John Victor’s ill-advised foray 40 yards from goal which allowed John McGinn to add a deadly third goal.

“You can’t give away basic errors to a team like this in the Premier League,” Dyche told the BBC.

“The mentality is there, but you can’t keep giving yourself a mountain to climb. The players have turned to the basics. We’ve worked on it and shown them, but that’s the job. I never expected it to be easy when I got here.”

Until Watkins scored the winner in first-half stoppage time, Forest’s plan was working, even if it was extremely practical. Villa were limited to one chance – a golden one – when they denied goalkeeper John Watkins early on.

But the forest collapsed. McGinn scored the first of his two goals in the 49th minute to give high-flying Villa a 2-0 lead.

Although Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal made it 2-1 and briefly gave Forest hope, there was little to suggest they would stage an improbable comeback.

Gibbs-White told Sky Sports: “I feel like we stuck to the game plan in the first half. There were a lot of positives to take. I know we need points, but we showed the work ethic and desire.”

“We always know that Villa start with high pressure. So the key was to absorb that pressure and silence the fans a little. We were unlucky to concede just before half-time.”