Forest fan's 30-year wait for European campaign

Matt Appleby (right) bumped into Stuart Pearce while looking around the ground in Malmo ahead of Forest's match against the Swedish outfit in 1995

A Nottingham Forest fan who travelled from New York to Germany to see the team in its last European campaign in 1995 has said he feels his beloved Reds are now back where they "belong".

Matt Appleby was in his 20s when Nottingham Forest last played a European fixture.

He still remembers the bitter cold when he arrived in Munich for the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-final, after he made the trip from New York, where he lived at the time.

"There was no way I was going to miss Forest in a UEFA Cup quarter-final," he said.

Lifelong fan Mr Appleby (left) and his friends Pete Fletcher and Dave Allsopp (right) were excited to be back in Europe with Forest

And 30 years later, he said it was "good to be back".

"Seeing Forest and seeing those UEFA badges on the Forest website and on the shirts and so on, it kind of feels right somehow," the now 53-year-old said.

Speaking to the BBC from the mountains of Malaga, on the way to Seville for Wednesday's fixture against Real Betis, Mr Appleby said: "I remember vividly the first game against Malmo in September 1995 and of course that was notable because we played Malmo in the 1979 European Cup final - so that trip was memorable."

Mr Appleby travelled to a number of Forest's UEFA Cup games with friends, but after he moved to New York, he faced near eight-hour trips to some matches - including the quarter-final that saw Forest knocked out.

He said he had to "carefully time" his trips to make sure he arrived on time for matches.

"It was a memorable campaign and we had a really good team then, under Frank Clark," he said.

"But nobody really would've ever anticipated that it would be 29 years until we were back in Europe again.

Nottingham Forest have not been back in Europe since they were knocked out at the quarter-final in March 1996

"I flew out on Monday morning from East Midlands [Airport] very early and there was a real air of excitement."

Mr Appleby added his children were now in their early 20s and Forest had been "pretty terrible" throughout most of their lives.

But he added: "It's great for them to be able to see Forest being a bit more successful."

Forest fans in Malmo in September 1995 ahead of their first match of the season

Despite some nerves, particularly after recent developments at the club, including welcoming a new manager, Mr Appleby was optimistic.

He said: "We've got some real pedigree in Europe so actually it's almost like we feel like we belong."

Mr Appleby hoped new manager Ange Postecoglou could replicate his success at Tottenham Hotspur - where he won the Europa League trophy last season.

"Who knows? Stranger things have happened," he added.