Pearce reunion for Andros

Andros Townsend comes up against his former England Under-21 boss when we take on Stuart Pearce’s Nottingham Forest in the Capital One Cup tonight.

Pearce was in charge of the Young Lions when Andros earned his first cap at that level in a European Championship qualifier against Serbia in October, 2012.

Now in the City Ground hot seat, the experienced former defender has led Forest to top spot in the early Championship standings while Andros has gone on to make an impact in the senior England team since his Under-21 days.

With a place in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup at stake at White Hart Lane this evening, our 23-year-old winger is determined to ensure his former international manager doesn’t leave White Hart Lane in celebratory mood after the game.

“Stuart Pearce gave me my debut for England Under-21s and I played under him a few times so it’ll be good to see him again but hopefully we get the win and he’s not too happy at the end of the game,” said Andros, who has recovered from the dead leg he sustained in last week’s Europa League draw at Partizan Belgrade.

“Our opponents are flying high in the Championship so we know it’s not going to be an easy game. They’re going to try and get at us from the first minute and it’s going to be difficult, but we’re playing at home in front of our own fans so it’s definitely a winnable game for us.

“You’ve always got to be more wary of teams when you play in the cup competitions because they’re going to be up for it that little bit extra and they’re going to be running around that little bit more, so we’ve got to be on our game if we want to go through.”