THIS is a big game for us, the biggest that we will face in the League this season. There is likely to be a crowd of around 20,000 in what is a fantastic stadium and I would expect my players to work hard and thoroughly enjoy the game.

I expect to see a vast improvement on the performance that we put in at Oldham on Tuesday evening. We have looked solid and hard to beat at home, but haven't been able to transfer this to away games and once more we were guilty of conceding two sloppy goals at Boundary Park.

Despite not making the start to life in League One that many expected, Forest have a strong squad and a massive wage bill. This counts for nothing if they are not getting the results, but they certainly have the ability within their ranks and we'll be going there looking to stifle them and keep their fans quiet.

We will be giving it a real go because there is no better League One venue to play at and we will be hoping to bounce back from our set-back at Oldham in the best possible way to set ourselves up for the busy schedule of matches that are coming up over the festive period.

The knee injury to Eric Skora is a real blow to us and with Mark Kinsella and Michael Standing also ruled out for this game, we have a lack of midfield options available to us. After coming through 45 minutes of action without any soreness on Wednesday evening, it looks as though I will include myself as part of the squad. In an ideal world I would have had a couple more reserve games, but unlike Forest, we do not have the personnel to be able to change things around to any great extent.

I realise that this is an expensive time of the year for our supporters and I thank those of you who made the journey to Oldham and who will be at Nottingham Forest. We need your total backing and support in order to make this busy month a successful one.

PAUL MERSON