Ryan Yates reflects on his individual performances at Nottingham Forest

Ryan Yates often goes under the radar as one of the more important players in the Nottingham Forest dressing room.

The 24-year-old has come on leaps and bounds under Steve Cooper and will be fancying the club’s chances of kicking on to reach the play-offs this season.

Yates has started all but two of the Reds’ league games this season and has dropped into a back three at times in recent weeks.

The Forest academy graduate has had an up and down relationship with the supporters in recent years but seems to have come of age this season.

Yates explained what he has focused on individually when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: “I am so driven to improve; I am quite headstrong, I am on my own path and I just want to make sure my performances are good.

“People can say what they want.

“As long as my performances are improving, that is all I care about.

“I do feel as though I have taken another step on, but it is only one step on the road and there are another hundred steps to come, hopefully.

“I have had games where I have had loads of praise but I have had others where I know I would have been hammered in the past.

“Now, because I have played a few good games, I can’t say to myself, ‘I wasn’t too bad there’.

“There is a long way to go for me individually and there is more to come from me and the team.

“I am so motivated to improve.”

Forest are two games from a trip to Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup having already knocked out Arsenal and the holders Leicester City.

Yates has played a crucial role in gaining a foothold in games for Forest, providing a solid base for the likes of Philip Zinckernagel and Brennan Johnson to express themselves in the final third.

The Verdict

Yates is a very experienced player for his age and has