John Metgod said it feels as if he is coming home after he returned to Nottingham Forest. The former Forest player and Dutch international has been appointed to the Club's Board.

He said: "It is good to be back; I have good memories of Nottingham. I came in 1984, a couple of years after the successes of '79 and '80, and, for me, it feels like coming home; it is a nice area to come back to and it feels like home. My eldest daughter was born here in 1984 so for my family and I, we have good and fond memories of Nottingham.

"I will be trying to get together with everyone at the Club to try and make sure that we go upwards and improve. It is going to be a long process and not something that will be done in months. We are here for the long term.

"We have to try and make sure that what happened last season is not something that is going to be repeated. We are better than that and we need to make sure that the Club is always going forwards.

"In football, you get to know people and sometimes those contacts work out. I met with Mr Marinakis and spoke to him about what he wanted to do at the Club and the project here and it was something that excited me.

"There are great football people at the club and I am really optimistic that we will be able to achieve something here. We are not looking to do it overnight; we are aware that it will take time to achieve the goals and that there will be a lot of hard work involved in doing that, but everyone is prepared to do it and get Nottingham Forest back up to where we need to be."

Metgod made more than 100 league appearances during a three-year stay at The City Ground between 1984 and 1987 and became notorious for his ability from free kicks, with one strike against West Ham particularly standing out.

He said: "I scored quite a few goals in that season, something like six, seven or eight free kicks. I scored against Wimbledon, Southampton, Aston Villa and there were quite a number. I scored one against Manchester United in injury time as well when we came back from 2-0 at half time, but the one thing that stood out for me was against West Ham as they were trying to win the league. It was a midweek game so there was highlights – not all games were televised back then – and if you can score a goal like that then it is nice.

"Whatever your work, if it feels like home then that is good. The history is good to have as a Club and the next stage is to create some new history. The history should be treated with respect but it would be nice to create something new over the next few years.

"Being on the Board is a first for me. It is a good challenge and I like the project here and that it is going to be step-by-step and not something that is done quickly."

Club Chairman, Nicholas Randall QC, commented as follows:

"From the outset we wanted a former player with experience of both English and Continental football to sit with us on the Board to enhance our football knowledge.

"John was our first choice and he can provide the Board with the benefit of his vast experience of football and provide a link between the owners, with their experience of running a Club in Europe's elite, and the English game.

"John's experience of Continental Football at Real Madrid and in Holland also means he is perfectly placed to provide helpful insight into our programmes for fan and community engagement as well as building links with former players.

"John's role as a member of the Board is not to be confused with a Director of Football role as Mark Warburton and Frank McParland will retain autonomy and authority regarding their roles."