Premier League leaders Leeds United travel to Nottingham Forest on Sunday and the Reds boss has been speaking about his side's relegation battle ahead of the crunch game
Sarah Clapson and James Smailes
14:59, 08 Nov 2025
Sean Dyche watches from the touchline during Nottingham Forest's Europa League clash with Sturm Graz
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Sean Dyche watches from the touchline during Nottingham Forest's Europa League clash with Sturm Graz(Image: PA)
Sean Dyche has stressed the harsh 'reality' facing Nottingham Forest as they gear up for a vital clash with Leeds United.
The challenge of juggling European competition whilst battling relegation in the Premier League represents the Reds' predicament this campaign. They must recover quickly from Thursday evening's goalless Europa League stalemate against Sturm Graz, with the recently-promoted Yorkshire side arriving at the City Ground on Sunday (2pm kick-off).
Forest remain trapped in the drop zone in eighteenth position ahead of this weekend's fixture. They sit four points adrift of safety and five behind their upcoming visitors, with Dyche acknowledging there's no escaping the reality of their plight.
When questioned whether it's premature to draw conclusions from the current standings, the Reds manager responded: "No, the table doesn't lie. The table is what it is.
"I've heard bits of how we didn't take this or that chance before I was here. We've had a little bit of that with the lad (Amad Diallo) scoring a great goal for Man U (to hold Forest to a 2-2 draw at the City Ground) - if that doesn't go in, we win. On the other hand, we clear one off the line and both teams have a couple of moments.", reports Nottinghamshire Live.
"These are all the debatable things. But the league table is what it is. The schedule is what it is, it ain't going away - all these games are not going away.
"I do always remind the fans, everyone wanted European football; everyone wants the challenge. But then the reality is, you can't suddenly change things. It's there, that's what's happening.
"We've arrived following other managers to attempt to set things straight. Thus far, I believe there are encouraging indicators regarding the performance standards. However, I'm not foolish, the performance standards must deliver victories.
"We require fit players and we require a competitive squad to then tackle the challenge. Meanwhile, grafting as intensively as possible to get players match-ready, get them on the pitch and secure wins. It's a journey. It's extremely uncommon for it to occur instantaneously."
The Reds are well-versed in fighting relegation battles in the Premier League. Their initial two campaigns following promotion were spent struggling near the foot of the table before achieving seventh place last term.
"That's part of being a professional footballer," Dyche said of coping with being in the bottom three. "That is the challenge. People forget, after one good season it doesn't solve everything.
"You're not just suddenly guaranteed to be a top-10 Premier League club; it takes a long time to make sure you are thought of as that. It's a process.
"Three seasons ago, staying up was close. Two seasons ago, it's close again. Then suddenly, you jump. That doesn't mean that you jump forever.
"I'm not naive, I know how tough the Premier League is, I've been in it for a long time. It's a constant shift. Add in European football - which everyone wants - and the challenge just keeps increasing. That's got to be put into the thinking.
"When I was on the outside looking at it and fans were telling me, 'we're going to do this and we're going to do that', I said I don't think it's that easy. Once I saw them get into Europe, I said, trust me, it's not going to be that easy.
"It's not bona fide guaranteed that you are now absolutely 100 per cent a top-10 Premier League club. It doesn't happen like that. There's a process for the club, as well as for the players and the fans.
"The fans have been terrific since I've been here and are finding a bit of balance. They have maybe looked at it a bit differently and thought 'OK, this guy is at least just telling us the truth, he wants to be here, he loves the badge, he wants the badge and he wants us to do well.'".
"I'm not just saying that, that's what fans are telling me. But they've got to understand, there isn't magic dust. You can't just make it happen overnight, there's a lot of work that needs to be done. That's what we're doing and that's what we intend to do."
The campaign remains in its infancy, but Sunday's clash carries significant weight heading into the international break.
Dyche has downplayed its importance, however.
"Trust me, they are all big games. I'm not being flippant," he added. "When you come in as a manager in this situation, it's not like I came in here green and naive. I knew the stats and facts.
"I've been surprised by some things, especially the injury list. We're looking at the how with all these injuries and the stats and facts physically.
"I said recently, we haven't got magic dust. You can't suddenly make players who are not used to having that killer edge score 20 a season. It's not that easy or else we'd all be doing it.
"On the other hand, I think there are positive signs with the way the team are playing to go and create better chances - and from open play. There was a lot of noise about not making so many chances from open play, but we've certainly been showing better signs of that and getting clean sheets along the way.
"I came here with the absolute open mind for the reality. That is my job; it's not all the myths and hearsay and social media, trust me. It's looking at the actual stark facts of where they are at physically, where are the stats at, where's the analysis at, who's delivering performances, who needs polishing up a bit, who needs to get ready and who are not quite ready.
"That's all part of the process on a daily basis. We work with all the staff here to ensure we're putting a team out there that can win."
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