Champions League would be fitting result for Forest team that punches above weight

MANCHESTER, England - Many of Matthew Oldroyds memories as a Nottingham Forest fan involve climbing on to a bus to attend away games in unglamorous football destinations such as Oldham, Gillingham and Huddersfield.

Forest began this season tipped for relegation but on Sunday can clinch a place in the Champions League for the first time in more than 40 years, and Oldroyd said his apprenticeship as a Forest fan during some of the teams darkest days had made their current campaign that much sweeter.

I am part of that generation where I got my timings wrong and I ended up watching quite a lot of bad football for 25 years, Oldroyd, author of Trailblazers: The Ground Breaking History of Nottingham Forest Football Club, told Reuters.

It has made these recent successes much more enjoyable because weve been through that period of pain and turmoil, of course, and now we get to enjoy a team that are at the top end of the Premier League.

Forest famously won the European Cup in 1979 and 1980, under the management of Brian Clough, but have not played in Europes elite club competition since the 1980-81 season.

They have enjoyed a remarkable renaissance this season under Nuno Espirito Santo -- whose surname translates to English as holy spirit and who replaced Steve Cooper in December 2023. They became the first team in Premier League history to double their points tally from one season to the next.

The Reds host Chelsea in a dramatic season finale at the City Ground, with both teams among five chasing three remaining Champions League spots, along with Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa.

The 40-year-old Oldroyd was born into a family of Forest fans and, while he missed out on the clubs glory years under Clough, he has fond