Watch: Ben Watson on how Nottingham Forest compares to his previous clubs
New Nottingham Forest midfielder Ben Watson thinks ‘for the past 20 years, Forest have underachieved’ because he believes the Reds to be a Premier League club.
Watson, 32, signed for the club on a two-and-a-half year deal after his contract with Watford was terminated on deadline day.
The midfielder had stints of his career at Crystal Palace, Wigan and Watford along with loan spells at Queen’s Park Rangers and West Brom.
He scored the winning goal in stoppage time of the 2013 FA Cup final for Wigan against Manchester City at Wembley.
But speaking about his new club, he feels Forest is the biggest he has played for in terms of its history.
He said: “Everyone knows Nottingham Forest – it’s a huge club with two European cups.
“But that’s all in the past now and I think Forest, and they will probably agree with this, have probably underachieved in the last 20 years.
“It’s a Premier League club but you’ve got to earn the right to get there and at this moment in time, we’re seven points off relegation in the Championship.
“Talking about the Premier League is where everyone wants to be but you have to take steps and it’s going to take time.”
Video: Ben Watson on why he wanted to sign for Forest
Watson said he signed for the Reds because he wanted a sense of belonging and felt he was not getting that while at Watford.
He said: “I joined because I just wanted to feel wanted by the manager and by the club.
“I spoke to people at the club who were really keen to get the deal with me over the line and once you feel that, that’s want you want to feel.
“You want people to want you to be at the football club and in those terms, it was an easy decision to join.”
