Dougie Freedman says Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi is “a football man”

Freedman, in preparing his side for the visit of Ipswich Town to the City Ground on Saturday, says Al Hasawi is as frustrated as the supporters about the volume of injuries to hit the Reds squad.

Freedman said: “I do speak to the owner every couple of days and he is okay. He is a football man. So he understands the ups and downs.

“He is as frustrated as anyone about the injuries we have got.

“He can see that, if we had a very strong squad out there, it would allow me to change things during games and for different games.

“He is frustrated because he sees that there is not a lot in this division.

“What this lovely game gives you is the opportunity to turn things around very quickly, because we have three or four very big games coming up, including the one against Derby.

“That would be a good opportunity to change the mood.

“But we can only control what we do on the training ground and we are working very hard to get those results.

“There is no doubt about that.

“It will turn around. It will. Because of the way we are playing, it will turn around.

“It is not as if we are having none of the ball and not having shots.

“You guys can see it, you are not fools, you understand what is happening. We just need a little bit of belief to get us over the line.

“We cannot play that well against Burnley for 89 minutes and not be going somewhere.”

And Freedman believes Forest are heading in the right direction.

He added: “There is a certain sexiness about us at the minute, when you look at players like Mendes and Oliveira.

“We have not had that in a long time. I think that is something I have a vision over.

“Some people do not have a vision, they are only concerned about what happens next week.

“The way to run a football club, the way to get results and to get promotions, is to have a long term vision over what you want and, more importantly, to stick to that vision no matter what.

“Look at the commitment and the performances, which are of a high standard.

“I believe the results will follow that, if you continue to have those two things. They will come in that order.

“We have a good team here, we have a good team ethos in what we do and in passing the ball.

“If one player breaks down, we can still perform at a high level. That is my outlook on it.”