Source: SKY_Sports
Davies cools promotion talk
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Billy Davies insists his Nottingham Forest side are not ready to launch a Premier League push despite upsetting promotion favourites Newcastle 1-0 at the City Ground.[LNB] Dexter Blackstock struck on the stroke of half-time to give Forest their fourth straight win and go joint fifth on 21 points, just five points off the top of the table.[LNB]Newcastle began the day at the Championship summit but West Brom crept above them earlier in the day and a third game without a win kept the Magpies off their perch on goals scored.[LNB]Blackstock's sixth of the season was just reward for a dominant first-half performance by Forest and although the visitors held on for a notable scalp, Davies was quick to rule Forest out as promotion contenders.[LNB]"We're not ready this season, I keep saying that to everybody," he told Sky Sports. "We're still looking at consolidation and steady progress.[LNB]Work in progress"We're very much a club that's a work in progress, we've got a lot of work to do with these young players and we saw their inexperience in the second half.[LNB]"They've got to learn how to dominate games in the second half when they've been in so much control in the first 45 minutes.[LNB]"I thought we were excellent in the first half and could have been two or three goals to the good," Davies added.[LNB]"We moved the ball around, possession was good and our movement off the ball was first class.[LNB]"But Newcastle showed what a good side they are after half-time and also showed us what we have to aspire to.[LNB]"We gave the ball away too many times in the second half, and by shooting ourselves in the foot, it might have cost us.[LNB]"We were on the back foot for too long but we showed a lot of character to hang in there and protect the lead we had earned.[LNB]"But I am very proud of the way my players are maturing and developing. We are learning and improving all the time and games like this can only help us in our development."[LNB]Davies also recommended that Newcastle give the managerial position to Chris Hughton on a permanent basis, and the Magpies' caretaker boss remained positive despite their recent slump.[LNB]"We paid the price for a poor first-half performance when they were much better than us," he said.[LNB]Bigger challenge"I just wanted to get the players in without conceding a goal and see if we could change and improve things.[LNB]"But Forest scoring just before half-time left us with a bigger challenge and although we responded to it, we just could not get the break.[LNB]"We knew how difficult it would be because Forest have been on an excellent run but we were looking to get something from the match.[LNB]"It's not pleasant to be leaving here without something but we are still at the end of the table where we want to be."[LNB]
