Excitement builds as Reds book their place in Europe

FANS AND BUSINESSES DELIGHTED - EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT NOT BE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

- By JOEL MOORE

FANS and businesses are looking forward to international competition after Nottingham Forest secured European football for the first time in three decades.

Despite stumbling to a 2-2 draw against rivals Leicester City on Sunday, the Reds are guaranteed a place in one of the continental competitions next season.

While Forest fans' dreams of Champions League football grow increasingly slim, a spot in either the Europa League or Conference League would come with their own romance. Supporters once accustomed to trips to Yeovil and Rotherham could find themselves booking flights to Rome, Porto and Dortmund.

Perhaps in contrast to owner Evangelos Marinakis' evident frustration after the final whistle against the Foxes, fans and businesses alike have spoken of their excitement at the European campaign, regardless of the form it takes.

Tom Holodynsky is operations manager of the The Great Northern Group, which runs venues such as the Trent Navigation Inn. He is also a City Ground season ticket holder, and recalls experiencing the magic of Forest's last continental campaign, the 1995-96 UEFA Cup, as a 10-year-old.

"You think 'I'm going to be doing this every year for the rest of eternity. We were soon relegated to the Championship and have been in the doldrums since," he said. "As a fan it's absolute dreamland. To have it back again is unbelievable."