NICKY SOUTHALL faces Nottingham Forest for the first time on Saturday since leaving them for Gillingham.

The 35-year-old spent a year and a half at the City Ground before returning to Gills for a third spell in January and he holds fond memories of his time there.

"It was part of my life that I will never forget," he said.

"I played quite a few games for them and scored 15 goals – I really enjoyed it there.

"It’s a fantastic arena to play football in, the club is steeped in history and to play for a club like Nottingham Forest is very humbling."

Southall left the Gills for Forest in the summer of 2005, going on to make 78 appearances for them before being lured back to Kent by Ronnie Jepson at the beginning of this year.

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