Nottingham Forest centre-back Joe Worrall has admitted he wanted neither Leeds United nor Derby County to win their Championship playoff semi-final and is now keen for Aston Villa to scupper the Rams' hopes.
Aston Villa will lock horns with Derby in the playoff final at Wembley on Monday, after the Rams’ dramatic win over Leeds in the semi-final second leg last week.
And Worrall, who has now returned to Nottingham Forest after his loan spell with Rangers, has admitted he wanted neither Leeds nor Derby to win the playoff semi-final.
The defender came up through the ranks at the City Ground and is a staunch Nottingham Forest fan.
Worrall understands the rivalry between Nottingham Forest and Leeds and Derby has admitted he did not want either to progress to the playoff final.
However, the 22-year-old also credited Derby for deservingly booking their place in the final, but reiterated that he now wants Aston Villa to win, especially considering the East Midlands derby rivalry in place with the Rams.
“We will definitely be rooting for Villa in the play-off final, won’t we?”, Worrall was quoted as saying by the Nottingham Post.
“To be honest, I watched the Leeds and Derby semi-final and you didn’t really want either of them to win.
"You would probably lean towards Leeds, just about.
“But I could not believe how things unfolded.
"Fair play to Derby, because they have had a good season and they deserved to be up there.
“They are in the play-offs on merit. They are in the final on merit.
"But you would ideally want Villa to win on Monday, wouldn’t you?”
Worrall made 32 appearances for Rangers during his productive loan spell in Glasgow this season.
