Steve Hodge: Ex-Nottingham Forest midfielder urges Reds to put pressure on Bournemouth

Bournemouth will feel the pressure of a Nottingham Forest resurgence which has seen them emerge as unlikely automatic promotion contenders, says former Reds midfielder Steve Hodge.

Forest beat Birmingham on Saturday to go third, having started the season with just one point from seven matches.

They are six points behind Bournemouth, in second, with seven games remaining.

"Bournemouth will know there's only one team that can shoot them down and that's Forest," said Hodge.

"And there is only one team for Forest to shoot at now, and it's Bournemouth."

Hodge said Forest's disastrous start to the Championship season - which was the club's worst beginning to a campaign for more than a century - was a "write off", and gave their rivals "a seven-game head start".

Chris Hughton was sacked in September after they suffered a sixth loss from seven league games.

Steve Cooper was appointed later the same month and has gone on to oversee 18 league wins from 31 games, a run of form that has put them in contention to challenge for a return to the Premier League after a 23-year absence.

The Reds, who have not played in England's top flight this century, are in their best league position with seven games remaining since 2009-10, when they went on to finish third.

In that season their hopes of promotion ended at the semi-final stage of the play-offs.

"No-one would have given Forest a chance of being within six points of second place after they were bottom after seven games of the season, and the players were looking a sad group," Hodge told BBC Radio Nottingham.

Former England international Hodge, who made 205 league appearances for the Reds over two spells, did go on to say that "the pressure is on Forest" to catch the Cherries and claim the second of the two automation promotion spots, behind runaway leaders Fulham.

"I would rather still be where they [Bournemouth] are - the points are in the bag," he said.