Sign up NOW for the latest Reds news and views direct to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Nottingham Forest must learn an important lesson from their battling but disappointing draw at Oldham, ahead of the new Championship campaign, says disappointed Aitor Karanka.

The Reds boss was frustrated with the performance produced by his side against League Two opposition, with a late equaliser from Lewis Grabban required to help them avoid defeat, in a 2-2 draw at Boundary Park.

Forest had taken the lead after only three minutes through Matty Cash – but Karanka felt he had seen warning signs during a pre-match warm-up, when several shooting exercises had seen his players fail to find the net very often at all.

Karanka felt his pre-match warnings that this would be a tough game had gone unheeded – and says he will be demanding far better when Forest face Scunthorpe United on Wednesday.

“Sometimes it is good to have games like today, so that you realise that every game is difficult,” said Karanka. “This is a game and a performance from which we have to learn a lot.

“We have to fight for every single ball, we have to play much better than today, in the first 70 minutes. It is a lesson that is better to learn now, rather than when the season starts.

“But I am disappointed. Pre-season is about performances, not about results, it is about adding to what you have done in training and about not getting injured.

“The game was more or less good, but we have to do much more. We have to do much better on Wednesday, against a better team. We have to learn from this game, for that game and for all the games that follow that.”

Karanka had felt his players’ concentration levels had not been good enough before the game had even kicked-off, after seeing their pre-match warm-up.

“When you need so many chances to score goals in the warm-up, when there is no opponent – and it takes you 10 minutes for you to score a goal, imagine how difficult it will be with an opponent,” he said.

“If you do not go to the pitch 100 percent concentrated, you will miss chances, you will make bad passes.

“The first half was a reflection of our warm-up.”

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Karanka still felt there was value to be taken from another tough pre-season outing. But he wants to see more battling spirit from his players, as they head into a long, demanding Championship campaign.

“It has been a tough test, but I told the players before the game that we were going to play a League Two game, but that it was going to be a different test to what we had faced in Spain,” he said.

“In Spain we played against one team who were not as good as us, in Lincoln. Then we played Betis and Malaga, when we played really well.

“I told the players this would be really different, because this team was not as good as them – but that they would fight more than them.

“I told them at the beginning of the game to expect this.

“But it was not a surprise (what followed) because after watching the warm-up, I could understand what came after; I could see that something was wrong.

“The concentration, particularly in the first half, was not good.”