Wednesday, June 3, 2026

The Sun Nigeria

Ola Aina wants Forest to raise the bar

Aina

Aina

Super Eagles defender, Ola Aina has called on Nottingham Forest to build on the success from last season as the team gears up for the 2025/2026 campaign.

Aina played a key role in helping Forest secures qualification for the UEFA Europa League, a feat many consider a significant achievement for the club.

The Nigerian international made 35 league appearances, scoring two and assisting one, as the team enjoyed one of its best top-flight seasons in recent history.

Speaking to the club’s official website following their preseason clash against AS Monaco, Aina said the team is focused on pushing even further this term.

“Last pre-season was a massive part of the season that we had, so hopefully we can replicate that and go again,” Aina stated.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position for this season and it should be exciting. Hopefully we can keep growing as a club because we did fantastically well last season.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position for this season and it should be exciting. Hopefully we can keep growing as a club because we did fantastically well last season.

“We just want to keep going in the right direction now, we don’t want to go backwards. We’re working really hard and hopefully we can build on what we achieved last season.”

Aina expressed satisfaction with the team’s high standards ahead of the new campaign, emphasizing the importance of their hunger and determination to build on last season’s performance.

“It’s good that we’re setting the bar higher and we have a standard now.

“That’s how you keep growing as a team and a club so that’s the level we need to aspire to be consistently now and hopefully we can go past that.”

Aina, who penned a new contract with the club this summer, will be aiming to guide Nottingham Forest to a strong European campaign while also sustaining their impressive form in the Premier League.