New Nottingham Forest striker Matt Derbyshire has set his sights on leading the Reds back into the big time.
Ex-Blackburn striker feels he can return to top flight with Reds
Matt Derbyshire has set his sights on leading Nottingham Forest back into the Premier League after joining the Reds this week.
The 25-year-old striker signed a three-year deal at the City Ground after spending the last two years in Greece with Olympiakos.
Derbyshire started out at Blackburn and also played in the top flight on loan at Birmingham last term.
And he is eager to get back there with Forest, who were last in the Premier League in 1998/99 and lost in the Championship play-offs the last two seasons.
"If you look at the club itself, it is actually a Premier League club in the Championship, but I do believe that in the near future we'll be back up in the Premier League," Derbyshire told
Sky Sports News.
"I'm very excited about the upcoming season and I'm looking forward to being part of it.
Coming home
"After a couple of years out in Greece I realised that English football was for me. I'm delighted to be back."
Derbyshire helped Olympiakos win the Greek Cup while on loan there at the end of the 2008/09 season.
He made a permanent move that summer and went on to score a total of 15 goals in 36 games for the club before joining Birmingham on a season-long loan, scoring three goals from nine starts.
But Derbyshire was ready to come back to his homeland for good this summer and was attracted by the prospect of joining Forest after Steve McClaren was appointed as Billy Davies' successor.
"My agent rang the club and said I was available from Olympiakos," he said.
"I worked with Rob Kelly in my Blackburn days so there's a bit of a link there, it turned out well and he got me in."
Derbyshire added: "I got to play Champions League football (with Olympiakos), which was one of the reasons I went out there in the first place.
"Seeing a different side of the game will be important for when I'm older and playing more games."
