Straight talking Greg Halford has a bright vision of Nottingham Forest's future

WHEN it comes to opinions, Greg Halford can be every bit as blunt and to the point as one of his arrowing long throw-ins.

The Nottingham Forest defender is in optimistic mood when it comes to the club's future, under the guidance of Alex McLeish.

Promotion, he says, remains a realistic goal, even if plenty of hard work – and no little improvement – will be required to achieve it.

But when it comes to the progress made by the club, since he arrived as a new signing in the summer, Halford does not beat around the bush.

"Let's get one thing right – Forest should not have been fighting against relegation last season," says Halford.

"Something was obviously completely wrong, for that to have happened.

"I am not sure you can compare last season with what we are seeing now. It was always just a question of fine tuning what we had, this summer.

"I think that is what we did. Forest brought in some quality players and we have not been looking backwards, we have been looking ahead."

And, when he considers that future, despite a season of considerable unrest on and off the field, Halford remains steadfastly positive.

"There is still a lot to fight for this season and we know we can be there or there abouts when it comes to being in the promotion race," says the 28-year-old.

"We are moving in the right direction, we just need to keep working at it.

"Consistency – that is what this division is all about – getting a run going and keeping it going for as long as possible. You saw Reading last year, they went on a run and pretty much ran away with it.

"There is no question why we can't do that ourselves, this season.

"The manager is looking to bring in one or two players; he wants to strengthen the squad.

"And we will all go from there. We would be happy to see the squad strengthened.

"If it makes us stronger, we would welcome it."

Halford put in a solid shift at left back at Pride Park last weekend, after being moved across from his previous position in the centre.

And he was happy to have at least secured a point for the travelling fans, even if he felt Forest might have deserved more.

"The fans always give us good backing and the game was always going to be whether they could make it," he adds.

"They did make it and every member of the team was grateful for their support.

"It was one silly mistake that cost us, but mistakes will happen in games and the important thing is how you react to them. I thought we reacted pretty well after the goal. We were the better team in the second half.

"We might have won the game."

Halford's performance is likely to see him retain his place in the side when high-flying Watford visit the City Ground this weekend.

The only question mark is over which position he might fill, with the former Portsmouth man having played in every position in the back four, as well as several in midfield, this season.

"Ideally, I am 28 now and I would like to settle down in one position," he says. "But, as long as it helps the team, I am happy. The skipper (Danny Collins) came back in to the side at Derby, which meant I was pushed out to full-back.

"I don't mind that, in fact I prefer playing on the left to playing on the right.

"I do enjoy it. I love playing football.

"It sometimes gets hard being versatile, though, but I have grown up with that. I am used to it.

"As long as it helps the team, I am happy. I actually got an under-21 call-up as a striker!"

Wherever he plays, you get the feeling Halford will be happy, as long as Saturday ends with another three points for the Reds.