Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates has lifted the lid on the squad’s start to life under new head coach Oliver Glasner.

The Austrian arrived on Trentside just two weeks ago and issued a promise that significant change would take place under his watch.

Just days into his time with the squad, evidence of that change was unequivocal as the Reds set up in Glasner’s unmistakable 3-4-2-1 shape, which has brought so much success to his former clubs, in a friendly at Notts County.

At Eintracht Frankfurt, that shape delivered an unthinkable Europa League title, before he emulated that success with Crystal Palace, claiming a Conference League title.

Alongside a second European trophy, Glasner also added an FA Cup and FA Community Shield to his now-glistening CV.

His arrival has instilled a wave of excitement in the Forest fanbase, but that buzz is also being felt by the squad as they gear towards the new campaign.

Since making his first team debut for Forest back in 2018, Yates has seen eight permanent managers come and go at the City Ground.

Bit this time, he hopes things will be different, and told the media that he has already seen encouraging signs which give him reason to believe that can be the case.

“I don’t like to get too excited, but there’s been really, really positive vibes from him to be honest.

“Given he’s only been here a week, the information he’s not just given us, but I feel like we’ve been able to take in, from his staff as well, has been really, really good.

“It was a good test today, and it was nice to get that winning feeling as well straight away. So I think we’ve had a really positive first week. It is only the first week, but there have been really positive signs, and we’ve started well.

“We’ve had some fantastic managers here before, and it hasn’t quite worked out, but I feel like there is a special feeling with Oliver.

“We’ve all got a special feeling, and it just feels very stable, and I think that’s what we need.” 

The 28-year-old midfielder echoed the words of Glasner, insisting that his focus is on the club’s culture.

“I think he’s just huge on culture,” he revealed, “The standards we set in training, that willingness to take on ideas.

“He knows he’s not going to come in and things are going to work from day one, but he just wants that work ethic every single day; [for us] to improve, take his ideas on, and just have the belief that it’s going to work.

“We’ve seen at previous clubs he’s got that track record to back it up as well; they’re not just words. So it’s really, really exciting.”