Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi provided a heartfelt apology to the fans after his side crashed out the play-offs.
Sabri Lamouchi Offers Apology to Fans After Crashing Out of Play-Offs on Final Day
Lamouchi: I Am So Sorry. It Was a Disaster
The Reds required just a point from their final few matches to seal their play-off spot.
A late defeat to Barnsley on Saturday meant their chances remained in their own hands; however, a 4-1 home defeat to Stoke City, and Swansea City‘s 4-1 win at Reading, was enough to condemn Forest to the Championship.
The Swans were leading 3-1 as the game headed towards its conclusion but, in the 91st minute, Wayne Routledge netted the fourth goal. It meant the Welsh side had crept above Forest on goal-difference in the most extraordinary of ways.
It meant Swansea City overturned a five-goal deficit on a dramatic final day of action to steal the final play-off spot from Forest.
And boss Lamouchi offered his full apologies to supporters after the heavy defeat.
“I don’t have any words,” he said. “I can’t explain what’s happened tonight or what’s happened for the last five games – how it is possible to not secure the play-offs before, with just one point.
“I can’t explain what’s happened tonight – when you come back in the ame and then 20 minutes before the end we lost control.
“I don’t have words in my mind now. I just have disaster. Unacceptable.
“I am so sorry for the Forest community – the fans and all the people who have followed us all season.
“It is just unacceptable to lose what we lost today. It is just unacceptable what’s happened tonight.
“It is just unacceptable after what we have done for 12 or 13 months, to be out like that. The worst scenario.
“It is just unacceptable and I can’t explain it.
“I am so sorry.”
Where Did It Go Wrong
Forest finish the campaign seventh. Just one goal is what separates them from having the chance to fight for promotion.
It seems a cruel, harsh way to conclude the season but, in reality, it was always coming.
The Reds came into the final day with a winless run of five matches; in three of their matches since the break, Forest have conceded in second-half stoppage-time.
On this occasion, Danny Bathh’s goal was enough for the visitors to take a lead into half-time before Tobias Figueiredo struck back after the break.
James McClean, Lee Gregory and a Nuno da Costa own goal combined to leave the Reds three-goals behind; a deficit that submitted the Reds to another season of Championship football.
Forest fans will be desperate for a post-mortem into their dramatic downfall – many, even, are beginning to call for Lamouchi to depart.
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