Founded 1865

Sunday 21 July 2013 Celtic boss Neil Lennon has told Nottingham Forest that their reported £1.5million bid for Kelvin Wilson is nowhere near the price the Scottish champions have slapped on the central defender. The 27-year-old left the City Ground to move to Parkhead two years ago, but Forest boss Billy Davies is keen to tie up his return. Wilson was a key figure for Lennon's men as they marched through last season's Champions League group stages and was rumoured to be on the verge of an England call-up. The Hoops boss does not want to lose the former Notts County and Preston player and has told Forest their offer is well short of the sum they value Wilson at. Lennon said: "There was a bid came in on Friday. I haven't had the chance to digest it yet but on the surface it's not going to be anywhere near enough. "He was very consistent last year and showed his qualities and the reasons why we bought him. "He's got two years left on his contract so he's in a stable position as far as that is concerned. There's no need to push the panic button. I didn't get the chance to speak to him about things yesterday but I'd imagine he'd want to stay. "Funnily enough he is in Nottingham for the weekend but that's purely coincidental." The Hoops boss does not want to lose the former Notts County and Preston player and has told Forest their offer is well short of the sum they value Wilson at. Lennon said: "There was a bid came in on Friday. I haven't had the chance to digest it yet but on the surface it's not going to be anywhere near enough. "He was very consistent last year and showed his qualities and the reasons why we bought him. "He's got two years left on his contract so he's in a stable position as far as that is concerned. There's no need to push the panic button. I didn't get the chance to speak to him about things yesterday but I'd imagine he'd want to stay. "Funnily enough he is in Nottingham for the weekend but that's purely coincidental."

FOREST TAKE ON ROYAL ANTWERP IN FRIENDLY

A late equaliser from Jamie Paterson gave Nottingham Forest a 2-2 draw in an entertaining pre-season friendly with Royal Antwerp. The former Belgian champions had come from behind in the second half after Matt Derbyshire’s early penalty but were pegged back late on by a moment of brilliance from Paterson. New signings Eric Lichaj and Jack Hobbs were given their first starts at The City Ground whilst Dorus de Vries and Paterson took their places on the bench. The Belgian supporters were in full voice early on but Forest quickly silenced them in the sixth minute as they took the lead from the penalty spot. Majewski’s pass found Reid inside the Antwerp area and the Irishman was upended by Jonas de Roeck, resulting in Derbyshire confidently placing his spot-kick to the left of the diving Sengier. Forest could have extended their lead just moments later as Lansbury found space inside the box but the midfielder was denied at close range by the legs of the goalkeeper. Having won all of their pre-season games so far, Antwerp manufactured their first chance of the afternoon but the diminutive Emrullah Guvenc could only shoot straight at Karl Darlow from the edge of the area. Both sides were moving the ball around nicely in an attractive encounter and it was an Englishman that almost got the visitors level as John Bostock, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, curled his free-kick agonisingly wide from 23 yards out. Derbyshire then came inches away from doubling his and Forest’s tally as he headed Darius Henderson’s cross to the back post against the crossbar. Shortly before the break, Guvenc unleashed a rasping drive from 20 yards and was unfortunate to see it fly just over the angle of post and crossbar as The Reds held their slender lead at the interval. Greg Halford then entered the action at half-time replacing Hobbs whilst Antwerp made two changes in an attempt to get back into the contest. Forest could have doubled their lead early in the second half as Derbyshire, who was getting into all the right positions, latched onto Lichaj’s reverse pass inside the area but was denied by a smart stop from Sengier. The City Ground faithful were witnessing end-to-end football and were soon on their feet to applaud a wonder save from Darlow. Kevin Tano made space for himself just inside the area and curled a beautiful effort that was heading for the top corner. Darlow had other ideas though, and leapt to his right to fingertip the ball over the bar. Antwerp didn’t have to wait long for their equaliser as Jordan Faucher fired them level just before the hour mark. As the visitors broke from a Forest corner, the striker raced onto a through ball from Tano and did superbly to keep his composure and slide a low finish under Darlow. The Belgian side were on the march and went ahead five minutes later to the delight of the visiting supporters. A corner was laid off to the edge of the area and Bakkenes was on hand to place his shot low into the corner of Darlow’s net. In an enthralling game, Forest should have been level immediately and only Derbyshire and Dexter Blackstock will know how they weren’t. The front two were both inside the Antwerp six-yard box but were denied by some last ditch defending on the goal line. With just nine minutes remaining, it was left to one of Forest’s summer signings to rescue the match in style. Paterson flicked the ball over the head of an Antwerp defender, sprinted through the visitors’ defence and calmly slid the ball under Sengier to restore parity. Despite the best efforts of both sides, Paterson’s goal was to be the final one on the scoresheet as the referee brought an end to an afternoon full of entertainment on Trentside.

Forest: Darlow, Lichaj (Cohen 72), Collins (Lascelles 72), Hobbs (Halford 46), Harding, Lansbury (Paterson 72), Greening (Moussi 66), Majewski (McLaughlin 77), Reid (Gillett 66), Derbyshire, Henderson (Blackstock 66) Scorers: Derbyshire (pen) 7', Paterson 81'

Royal Antwerp: Sengier, Marzo (Iboma 60), de Roeck, Diakite, Vansteenkiste, de Decker, S.Kil (Bakkenes 46), Bostock, van Tronhout (Faucher 46), Guvenc, Tano (Carvalho 83) Scorers: Faucher, 58', Bakkenes, 65

Referee: David Coote

Attendance: 4,798 (Away: 1,070)