Jesse Lingard is confident Nottingham Forest can beat the drop.
Next week, Lingard faces the prospect of playing against former club Manchester United for the first time ever.
“You always have it on your head that newly promoted teams can go down,” he told the Daily Mail. “But I look on the bright side and some stay up, stabilise and become established Premier League teams with new and higher goals.
“I know about Forest’s history and winning the biggest trophies and I want to do well and help them get back to that.”
He reveals that it was personal interventions by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and manager Steve Cooper that persuaded him to moved to the City Ground, “because they showed me the love”.
He adds: “I’d left United and my future was up in the air. The owner said he’d lay on a plane and fly me to Greece so he could convince me of his vision.
“Steve Cooper said he’d come to my house and answer all my questions and talk me through the club’s plans.
“Those offers in themselves made me feel wanted. In the end, I didn’t need to go to Greece because I met the owner in London instead, and Steve met me too, and their eagerness persuaded me.
“We all have to accept that a team with 22 new players isn’t going to gel instantly, or even work out the style of play straight away. But the owner assured me he’d spend money and buy players, and we’re getting it together now.”
