05 January 2023 , 14:47
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Nottingham Forest are still looking to be busy in the January transfer window despite signing 24 players in the summer.
Forest escaped the bottom three of the Premier League for the first time since September by beating woeful Southampton 1-0 on Wednesday night. Despite all the summer incomings, manager Steve Cooper is still on the lookout for new recruits - even though he knows what it looks like from the outside.
"If there is something we think can improve us and the club want to do it then great," said Cooper. "Every time I get asked about the transfer window, I think about everyone's thoughts of 'here Forest go again signing loads of players'.
"This transfer window is different to the last one. The context is different and we have to treat it for what it is in our current situation. If we think it is right then we will do it."
Taiwo Awoniyi admitted that Forest’s summer signings are only just clicking with each other. The Nigerian striker was a £17.5million recruit from Union Berlin in the hectic summer transfer window and admitted it has taken time to work things out.
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"Before the World Cup I was just trying to work out the Premier League and how my teammates are," said Awoniyi. "It is the same for everyone else in the team. I think now I am beginning to understand and beginning to settle into the league and we will see how we get on.
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"We have been in the relegation zone for quite a long time and now we are out of it we are still in the process of getting to be the better team we want to be.
"Getting out of the bottom three doesn't mean that it is over. We need to keep on believing and fighting for each other."
Awoniyi's goal against Saints - a tap-in after a defensive blunder - was Forest's first away goal for 576 minutes, with their last notch coming against Everton in August. It also set up their first away win of the season, a huge landmark to base a relegation battle on.
Awoniyi said, after his fifth goal of the campaign: "For me, I was just sprinting to get into the goal. I wasn’t going to miss it. Putting pressure on their centre backs was the plan and at the end of the day, we have the result and the goal.
"We have been looking forward to an away win for some time. The gaffer said to us every time that we need to improve on our away games and we are happy to finally get those points. Every Premier League game you have to work and in the end, you will see the results if you keep working and fighting."
Forest travel to Blackpool in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday before welcoming Wolves to the City Ground on Wednesday for a Carabao Cup quarter-final. Their Premier League campaign resumes at home to Leicester on Saturday, January 14.