Nottinghampost - Striker Karim Ansarifard has been impressed by the “passionate” support of Nottingham Forest’s fans.
The Iran international has relished the two appearances he has made at the City Ground so far, including on his debut for the club, against Sheffield United last month.
And he is determined to help give the crowd something to cheer about this season as a promotion push continues to gather pace for Aitor Karanka’s men.
“The fans are happy with how we are playing and they want to get behind us and see us promoted,” said Ansarifard.
“They are going to help us and we need them to support us, whether we are 1-0 up or 1-0 down.
“We need the support from them and believe me, all players will give 100 percent to make them happy and achieve our goals.”
After having his Olympiacos contract cancelled in August, Ansarifard had to wait for work permit approval before he could complete his move to the Reds last month.
He has featured four times for the club so far, all of them from off the bench, with his first game coming in the final minutes of the 1-0 win over the Blades.
“It was very good for me,” the forward said of his debut.
“We have great fans here, they support us for the whole game and they are really behind us.
“The people here are passionate and it makes us want to play better to give our best for them.
“Football is here because of the fans and we have to play our best to make them happy and to make them excited, that is the most important thing.”
And Ansarifard says Forest must continue to harness that backing when they play at home, with a second successive match on the banks of the Trent to come on Saturday when Preston North End are the visitors.
“It is very important (to win at home),” he told the club’s matchday programme. “To win and take the three points to make our fans happy is so important.
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“We need to use the atmosphere to our advantage to get the victory.”
For the front man, this is his first experience of English football, having previously played in Greece, Spain and his homeland.
The relentless nature and packed fixture list of the Championship has taken some getting used to.
“It is always different, all of the leagues are different, so it is difficult to compare them,” the 28-year-old added.“It is a really tough league and there is a short time to recover because each week there are two games and each one is a fight.
“I like that and it is totally different to Greece for example, as there would be normally one game a week with sometimes Champions League or Europa League matches.
“Here it is different as there is a short time between the games and it is really competitive.”