“If you go up one side of the mountain, you are going to have to eventually come down the other side.”
In the form of his career at 32, Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood has just been asked if he enjoys all the positive headlines.
The New Zealand international has been in the spotlight – scoring eight of Forest’s 15 league goals so far – but his thoughtful answer reflects his journey across 12 English clubs, including Burnley, Leeds, Leicester and Newcastle.
“It’s about making coming down the other side as small as possible to bounce back up and make a new mountain,” says Wood, speaking to BBC Sport before Saturday’s home game against Ipswich. “Mentality is huge in sport and in football. If you can control that side of the game it helps.
“You go through these mountains and waves through the whole season. It’s not just a case of skyrocketing. That’s what I got told by [former technical director] Dan Ashworth when I was at West Brom: It’s not always going to be plain sailing.
“There are going to be those waves and you have to ride with them and hope the downside is as small as possible to get the upsides as big as possible.”
Wood, who scored 14 league goals last season, became the first Forest player to win the Premier League Player of the Month award in October and is closing on Bryan Roy’s club record of 24 goals in the competition.
Under boss Nuno Espirito Santo, he has scored 19 goals in 28 top-flight appearances and says he has found a manager who both understands and values him.
“You have to find where you are appreciated. Managers have their own style and how they want to play games,” says Wood, speaking at the club’s training ground.
“That’s not anything I can control. It just means you might not be in the right area or the manager’s cup of tea. There’s always a manager who likes a number nine, or a false nine.
“I’m not a man who is going to beat two or three players and stick in in the top corner, I’m a man who relies on service. If they can’t supply me, I can’t score.
“It’s about trying to find the role which fits everyone and fortunately under Nuno it has.
“The six or seven loans I had as a youngster taught me a lot about being appreciated and valued. It’s not always about you as a person or player, it’s how you connect and build with a team. A lot of it is out of your control.”
