Archived News from February 2003
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ARTICLE ON GREENACRE
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CHRIS: 'I WAS READY'
Evening Post, 21 February 2003 Former Stags striker Chris Greenacre today admitted that he would have been keen on a move to Nottingham Forest when he left Mansfield Town. Greenacre, who left Stags on a Bosman free transfer last summer, will take his place up front for Stoke at the City Ground tomorrow. Summer reports linked him with a move to Forest. But the striker said: "It was only ever paper talk. There was never anything solid in it. "Nottingham Forest are the biggest club in the Midlands and I would probably have jumped at the chance. "But It was something that was out of my hands. My agent never heard anything from Forest." He said Stoke's defence would have a handful with the Reds' current strike-force. "David Johnson has scored a lot of goals and he and Marlon Harewood have developed a good partnership," he said. "Forest have a lot of good young players and are a quality side. "They deserve to be where they are in the division and there's no reason why they can't go up." Greenacre is convinced second-from-bottom Stoke will escape the relegation zone. The 25-year-old, who was sidelined for 12 weeks by a pre-season ankle injury, said the mood at Stoke was upbeat on the back of recent performances. "The new manager has come in and thankfully given me a run of games in the team which I needed to get back my fitness," Greenacre added. "In the last ten or 12 games we have played very well, apart from a setback against Grimsby, but the results have not gone for us. "We had a good FA Cup run which only ended against Chelsea and we have been working well. "The ship needed to be steadied and Tony has done that. Our performances have improved since he took over and hopefully we can maintain that. "We have got to be confident we will stay up. As soon as you start doubting that, you might as well pack in. "The spirit in the dressing room is good and the lads want to work for each other." Greenacre went to watch Manchester United's Champions' League tie against Juventus at Old Trafford on Wednesday with ex-Stags team-mates Kevin Pilkington, Lee Williamson and Liam Lawrence. And he believes his former club are in safe hands under manager Keith Curle. He said: "I know him from Manchester City and he is a great pro. With him being hands-on and playing in the first team, it will help them. "I have not seen much of Mansfield but I have watched them on Sky and I speak to the lads quite regularly. They have had a bad time in the league and were conceding a lot of goals. "But I have every confidence they will stay up." |
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