Exclusive Matz Sels ahead of West Ham and Chelsea: 'Missing out on the Champions League would be a blow. It goes down to the wire...'

Photo by Alessandro Schiavone

Exclusive interview by Alessandro Schiavone

Capital Football have exclusively spoken to Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels ahead of the two-time European Cup winners' fixtures with London outfits West Ham today and Chelsea next Sunday. The Belgian goalie, who has arguably been one of the finest glovemen in English football this term, is adamant that the Champions League race will go down to the wire. But for that to happen they have to claim maximum points at London Stadium today...otherwise it's over.

Mats, seven points dropped at a crucial time of the season which could hurt you at the end of the season. Why was that?

"We shouldn't forget that Crystal Palace are a good team as is reflected by their place in the FA Cup final. They had countless chances to win it and in the end we should be happy with one point."

It begs the question now: is the real Nottingham Forest the one we saw until March or the one that took only five points since the 15th of April? Or is the truth somewhere in the middle meaning neither as good as back then nor as mediocre as now?

"The Premier is just a tough, tough league. It's not easy to go on a winning streak. But we got a good result at Tottenham and were involved in an FA Cup semifinal which was incredible. Okay it's a shame we didn't take the points [recently].. But the one at Palace is a golden one! There are two games to go and I think it will go down to the wire. We know what we have to do before we host Chelsea on the last game of the season. I think it will all be decided on the final match-day. We have to keep going because football is like that: there are weeks when you don't win and you have to bounce back."

Would it be a bad season if, after occupying Champions League spots for so long, you'd finish outside of the top 5 after MD 38?

"I think that until now it's been an incredible season. We've once been on a six-game winning streak and reached the FA Cup semis. The season's been nothing short of incredible even if we end up in the Europa League. At the start of the season we would have bitten your hands off for a place in the top-six. But of course we're still in the run for the Champions and missing out would be a blow. But whatever happens we have to take pride in what we've done this term."

Does it bother you that you're not really on many people's lips when the talk is about the Prem's best goalkeepers?

"Look it's because people prefer to pick goalkeepers who compete at the top end of the table. I think I've had a good season and more generally my career's been on an upward trajectory for nine years now. It's down to people to judge whether I've had a good campaign or not. I'm putting in the hard work behind the scene and I'm feeling good. I wanna deliver in matches to help Nottingham Forest take as many points as possible."