242 The Unstable Forest Part 1 (2/2)

Tang En laid his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes to rest.

He really needed every bit of opportunity to properly rest. A few days ago, when he was video-calling Shania online, the girl had made a big fuss about how Uncle Tony was pale-faced, must not be physically or mentally well, and so on. Tang En told her that it must be the lighting effect that came with the camera that caused the target being filmed to appear pale. But he knew the truth; ever since he had taken on his position as Forest's manager, stress had been a constant companion and would continue to be, unless he left his post and quit being a manager.

Speaking of which, star players like Beckham buy insurance for their bodies. Why don't managers insure their hearts?

Thinking about such nonsensical matters, Tang En gradually fell asleep.

※※※

Nottingham Forest's performance completely fulfilled the expectations Tang En had had in his heart. They did not make any targeted arrangements just because this was their first official opponent in the UEFA Europa League; there were no special changes to their tactics. However, Forest team's performance was a world of difference from their performance in the previous match. Just a match before, they had almost lost to Norwich City on Forest's home ground. But today, they won 3:1 for their first group match in the UEFA Europa League in a location even more alien to them: Greece.

Tang En stood outside the technical area for the away team in Dimotiko Stadium. He looked at the field with both hands in his pockets. There were still five minutes before the match ended, but Forest team had already cemented their victory.

This match was completely different from the match with Norwich City. The entire Forest team was extremely energetic that day; their movements, passing and receiving, efficiency at offense, and accuracy in shots were more than a mere level above their performance from a few days ago.

Maybe it was because the UEFA Europa League excited them.

But there was no way to always keep them excited. A crest could not possibly be maintained; if it could, it would not be called a crest.

Tang En scratched his head and turned to see David's beaming face. With such results, the assistant coach had nothing to complain about. For a team that had been struggling to keep their position in the First Division just a year ago, it was a rather huge leap for them to attain victory in the UEFA Europa League just a year later.

”Congratulations, Tony. We won again.”

”What is there to celebrate about this?” Tony waved his hands. ”Wait until we get a bigger victory, like…”

He got stuck there and did not know how to continue. UEFA Europa League Champions? It seemed a little too difficult… or how about to beat Lazio in the group matches? That sounded a bit too small-minded.

”Such as being champions in the UEFA Champions League?” Kerslake was surprisingly bolder than Tang En and directly stated his final goal.

Tang En looked questioningly at his assistant coach, who had more confidence than he did. Could this all be because of his ”Read the headline” column article?

”Ah… Of course. If we could take that championship, it wouldn't even matter how we celebrated it. But we still have a long way to go.”

He turned his head back to look at the main team, who looked listless.

There was no real thrill in beating such an opponent.

It still took defeating a manager like Mourinho for the thrill to come in like a high tide, wild and stormy.

※※※

After Forest had brought three points back to the UK, there was no time for Tang En or his players to breathe. Without returning to Nottingham, immediately after disembarking the plane from Heathrow Airport in London, they had to travel to Crystal Palace in southern London to prepare for the league match in two days.

After much consideration of factors such as the exhausting travel, battling an away match, and that the next league match would be another away challenge against Newcastle—a difficult team to deal with—Tang En decided to field more substitute players in the current match to allow the main players an opportunity to rest.

However, the result of the match was again beyond Tang En's expectations.