Donn used his hair in his newspaper column and England's famous BBC football commentator Mark ? Laurenson's bet, thanks to Britain's highly developed media and paparazzi, soon became the talk of the nation.

Such an interesting manager always attracts the attention of the public. The Nottingham Evening Post made a good deal.

Now that Coach Donn has publicly made a bet with Laurenson, Lineker also highlighted this matter in the next episode of "Today's Game". In Lineker and Alain? Amid Hansen's ill-intentioned laughter, Laurenson publicly responded to Donn's invitation to gamble on the show - he promised to play with Tony? Donn gambled that if Forest didn't stay in the First Division, as he claimed, and instead moved up to the Premier League, he would have to shave off the beard he was most proud of.

The next day, Donn's column was quick to respond. Donn praised Laurentian for her courage and enthusiastically recommended what brand of shaver would work better, from traditional to electrically vibrating self-adhesive ...... There are all kinds of models and all kinds of price points.

The gamble attracted a lot of attention, including the Forest club's own people.

Even the old janitor Ian? McDonald would ask Donald when he came to work at the training base, "Hey, Tony!" We all want that Laurentian to shave his beard, and you have the confidence to win against him, right? ”

"Of course I have, Ian. I have no plans to change my hairstyle. Then the two looked at each other and laughed.

Of course, not everyone supported Donn. There are also many who think that Donn is just bluffing, and the season is still a few months away, how can he be so sure that his team will be promoted to the Super League?

By any measure, Mark? That's all there was to say Laurenson. Although winning the League Cup is enough to make the Foresters proud, there is no reason for them to be arrogant that the Forest team can have the last laugh in the long league? Forest are now 17th in the league, and of course, this is also because they have played two fewer league games than other teams.

Skeptics and critics alike can't figure out one question: Tony? Where did Don get so much confidence? He is not in charge of the best team in the world, but the average League One team, Nottingham Forest.

Tang Encai was not interested in explaining this to them, and he put all his energy into his work. The Carabao Cup is over, the team's goals and plans need to be changed, and the coaching staff must come up with a new schedule.

It's March, two months to go, and in eight weeks, Forest have 16 league games to play, with an average of two games a week. This density is staggering, considering the factors of making way for national teams and FA Cup competitions at the same time, which is the main reason why the likes of Laurence are not optimistic about Forest's promotion success.

Don himself knows very well in his heart that he has long been familiar with this league matchup table, and he can almost memorize it.

After the training and inspection of the League Cup, the main lineup in Donne's heart has been scored. Two months later, the team's run-in period has gradually passed, and he doesn't think there is a need to work more tactically. Starting in March, the team's training program focused on physical fitness and physical training, and the training volume increased to pull the players' physical fitness up. to cope with the intensive competition.

Physicality, that's what Donn repeatedly emphasized. In modern football, without physical fitness, everything is in vain. This is the basis of all techniques and tactics.

The positive factor is that the morale of the team is high now and the atmosphere in the dressing room is good. Don doesn't have to worry about off-field issues.

The League Cup is one stage goal, and the final league is another stage goal.

Before one goal is achieved and the other continues, Donn thinks it is necessary to gather the team and give them an "ideological and political lesson" - this is a joke, of course. The main thing is to unify the team's internal thinking, clarify everyone's goals, boost morale, lift spirits, and do your best at such a critical moment when the league is about to enter the final sprint.

Despite the importance of training and tactical factors, Donn believes that a true master manager must be an expert in mental conditioning, and he is very good at mobilizing the atmosphere of the team and solving the psychological problems of the players. There was a sentence he forgot where he saw it, but he was impressed and agreed:

Third-rate coaches look at players, second-rate coaches look at tactics, and first-rate coaches look at psychology.

The more important the moment, the more important the psychological role is. Think about the Chinese national team in 2001, the people are still those people, but in the end they reached the World Cup finals. In the past 44 years, there have been countless more favorable situations than that one, and the Chinese team has failed without exception, except for the 2002 World Cup. What has changed the Chinese team that has always liked to "overturn in the gutter" and "draw to qualify but will definitely lose"? Milutinovic's tactics don't have much to marvel at, but his level of mental conditioning is definitely world-class. He has been able to use a mystery-like psychological adjustment to change the mental outlook of the Chinese national team, stimulate their fighting spirit, improve their abilities, and create miracles that have never been done before - yes, miracles. Since then, the whole country has celebrated like October 7, 2001, and the scene of the whole country being red overnight has never been seen again.

It was also from the acquaintance of Milutinovic that the fan Donn regarded the psychological role in football as particularly important. Because what is in front of him is a living example, can the Chinese team that can't support the mud on the wall be trained into a team that is united and persevering, and does not hesitate to fight, is this evidence not strong enough?

Today, as a coach, Donn has many opportunities to practice the role of the "mental" factor in football.

So, on the first day of the new schedule, on a sunny morning, before the start of the training session, Donn showed up at the training ground and spent half an hour addressing the players. Walker and members of the coaching staff stood behind him and listened.

"How does it feel to win the League Cup, guys?" Donne, who was standing in front of the players, asked as if he were greeting friends.

"Very good, boss!"

"Awesome, chief!"

"I couldn't sleep for days! As soon as you close your eyes, it's the final ...... that day," some people complained.

"Hahahaha!"

Donn's laughter with the players didn't stop them from being so indulgent on the training ground.

"Yes, looks like you're in a good mood." When everyone had finished laughing, Donn continued. "But now I'm starting to worry about something else." Speaking of which, Donn paused slightly, playing tricks and piquing the players' interest.

"Someone must be starting to wonder: what is it that worries me? Thank God, we don't have serious injuries in our team right now, we don't have a losing streak and morale is low. What else could be a problem? Well, to be honest, I'm a little worried right now about whether you're still as motivated as you were a month ago. We've just won the Carabao Cup and no matter where we end up this season, we can definitely play in the UEFA Cup next season. You have the opportunity to ...... all over Europe Oh no, the world is showing its talent in front of you. That's very, very exciting! Am I right? ”

The players had some nodding.

"So, I'm worried now that you're losing the motivation to keep going when you win a championship. Think of the remaining sixteen league rounds as 'garbage time' and think that this season has all of our goals accomplished and we can breathe a sigh of relief and relax! Is that so? As Don said this, he could already see many people shaking their heads, and others repeating the "no" in a whisper, so he asked out loud at the end.

Unsurprisingly, everyone replied equally loudly: "No! Not so! ”

"It's too windy for me to hear......," Don said.

"Nobody thinks so! Boss! "This time, the players almost roared." No one-!! ”

Don let the group of boys go, and nodded in satisfaction. "It's loud, it seems that you have enough sincerity. So can someone tell me, now that we've won the Carabao Cup and booked a place in Europe for next season, why are we going to train and play hard for the next two months? What is our goal? Wes, tell me about it. Don called Mogan's name.

"For an upgrade, boss! We're going to the Super League, we should have been at the end of last season! Mogan's answer was categorical, and he was too impressed by the painful experience of losing in the play-offs last season.

This answer was exactly what Don wanted. But he turned his head to see the silent George? Wood, he suddenly shouted, "George! Tell me, why do we have to fight so hard for the next two months to win? ”

Everyone heard Donn call Wood's name, and they were all curious about what kind of reason this usually taciturn teammate would say at this time, and they all turned their heads to look at Wood at the back.

George? Wood looked up at Don and didn't answer his question. He didn't seem to like speaking his mind in front of so many people.

Don didn't give up, and continued to look at him, and the two looked at each other in front of everyone, until one of them couldn't hold on and was defeated.

Wood lost. He bowed his head and said, "Only by winning the game can you get the bonus." ”

Holding back such a sentence for a long time, the teammates around him laughed. Don laughed too, but when he was done, he said to the others very seriously, "George is right. You have all seen the prize money for the League Cup winners, and our chairman is not stingy at all. "He's telling the truth. After winning the League Cup, in the dressing room of the Millennium Stadium, the excited Evan? Chairman Dogetty promised on the spot a prize of £5,000 to everyone, including the players and coaches. Two days later, the money was in everyone's hands. Not only the players and coaches who participated in the finals, but everyone in the club received the championship prize, the difference is only in the amount of money.

"So, if we can get promoted to the Super League at the end of this season, I think Mr. President will be happy to pay another amount. As for how much each of us can get, it will depend on the performance in the next two months! ”

Hearing that there was money to be taken, the players let out a burst of cheers.

Donn was pleased with the reaction of the players, and it always worked best for whoever it was. Who doesn't love money? Who doesn't want to take extra money? From that point of view, George? Wood's answer was what Don wanted most.

"Very well, now I believe you do have enough momentum to move forward!" So he shrugged and said this.

The players laughed, and even Walker, who was standing behind Donn, followed suit. There are fewer managers who can joke with the players like this...... Most coaches always want to maintain enough majesty in front of the players to keep their faces on their faces, so that the boys are afraid of him and dare not refute any of his words. Use high-pressure tactics to assert your authority in the team.

But Tony? Don was different, he was young, he was familiar with the thoughts of many young people, and knew that any of them liked to listen to Oasis songs and secretly go to the bar for a drink or two - as long as it wasn't particularly serious, Donn wouldn't delve too deeply, just a reminder. He was open and honest with his players, not "players", but "guys", and he never tried to show his authority, but everyone listened to him. He rarely gets angry, but everyone is afraid that he will be called by him to play against the reserves, on the grounds that "because you are playing much better than the third-tier team"...... The players treat him like friends, and this relationship sometimes makes them ignore the identity gap between them. But when Don needed them to work for him, they wouldn't complain.

This head coach ...... When it comes to this, it's no wonder that he can lead the team to win the League Cup. Collymore was overindulgent with his players, and he didn't have the support of the players. And Paul? Hart was on the serious side. Even though Donn was Hart's student, he had long since surpassed his own teacher.

Because he has something unique about himself...... "Guys, do you like me?" Don asked suddenly.

"I like it!" This is the expected answer.

"That's great! You all know about the bet I made with that Laurentian, right? I say...... Everybody doesn't want me to have my head shaved, do they? Don asked expectantly.

"No, boss!" Eastwood replied loudly. His answer pleased Donn, who was about to compliment the gypsy. Unexpectedly, Eastwood immediately added with a grin: "Actually...... Boss, we all think it's nice for you to change your hairstyle! ”

"Ah...... You bastards! Looking at the smiling players, Don scolded helplessly. Chat time is over! Get back to training on the field! I'm going to train you hard! Ravage you! You don't have the strength to think of these bad ideas! For the next week, physical training, up-to-the-box, two exercises a day! ”

"Wow!!" There was a wail from the players.

"Understand your situation, boy!" Tang Enzhen laughed.

※※※Two days later, City Stadium. The huge cheers from the stands resounded in the night sky of Nottingham, and the song "The World is in Our Hands" was sung over and over again, and the applause lasted for a long time. The 27,000 fans were on hand to witness the thrilling victory once again.

“…… The referee blew the whistle for the end of the game! 2：0！ Tony? Donn's side played a great game at City Stadium and they convincingly picked up three points from Gillingham! Counting the 34th round of the league three days ago, Nottingham Forest won two in a row after three consecutive draws! What's even more incredible is that after the League Cup semi-finals and finals, Tony? Don hasn't lost a single league game since he took over the team! "John on the TV again? Mortensen's passionate voice was influenced by Donn, but he also unwittingly became a favorite commentator for Forest fans because he always had good things to say about Forest.

"Wonder Coach - Tony? Dawn! "After the game, the Nottingham Evening Post also featured Pierce? Bruce's praise made Donn almost a spokesman for victory. Bruce recounted every win Donn has won since he took over, and each one was thrilling. Of course, it was the League Cup triumph, but Bruce didn't forget to tell those fans that they could continue to hope that the Forest season was not over yet, and by the end of the season, they could still be in Group 1 and be one of the three teams to play in the Premier League next season.

Since March 6, after the 35th round of the league, there has been such a piece of paper in the dressing room of the home team at the City Stadium, which has been pasted in the most conspicuous position on the wall, and it reads: "Nottingham Forest special train, the front arrives - English Premier League!" Punctual arrival time - May 9th! Expected - Possible to arrive early! ”

(To be continued)