OPINIONS are deeply divided on our manager at present and the first two performances have only given fuel to the anti-Dougie Freedman brigade.

The jury is still out on him and he desperately needs a good start to the season.

It was in this atmosphere that we assembled in the Fanzone for the pre-match debate and witnessed the reincarnation of the delightful Reebok Rebels as the White Diamonds.

What really lifted the spirits was watching Swansea beat Manchester United in the early kick-off.

The Lower North Stand concourse has had a facelift with murals of past heroes like John McGinlay and Kevin Davies and, prematurely, Tim Ream.

There’s a big screen showing videos of past glories and a DJ walking about trying to whip up an atmosphere.

For our first league match at the Macron Stadium, we welcomed back Joe Mason and he set the stadium alight with a well-taken goal in the fourth minute.

The first half was a cracking match with both teams going at it.

Neither defence looked comfortable and Adam Bogdan earned his keep with a great double save.

Forest equalised through Britt Assombalonga but we came straight back through David Wheater.

Jay Spearing then conceded a penalty for Forest’s and Assombalonga’s second.

After the break, both teams tightened up and we conceded a lot of possession, although we could have won it when Craig Davies missed a glorious chance when he headed over from close range.

The second half was best summed up when someone shouted “Come on Bolton, you can’t do anything without the ball!” Another fan countered “Steady on, we’re not doing much with it!”

This was a better performance, full of spirit against a team charged up by Stuart ‘Psycho’ Pearce.

There’s room for improvement but it’s early days.

It’s important that we get the first league win of the season sooner rather than later, hopefully tomorrow night against Middlesbrough when we are at home again.