Stuart Pearce has insisted that he is not scared of failing as manager of Nottingham Forest.

The former defender is highly regarded among the Forest faithful, having played 522 times for the club between 1985 and 1997.

Pearce has said that he will not feel the pressure of attempting to guide the club back into the top flight after a 15-year absence.

"I have never been the sort of fella to worry about pressure," he told the Nottingham Post. "Somebody asked me a really good question when I was speaking at a dinner recently.

"They asked me if I would be 'worried about coming in to Nottingham Forest and failing?'. No. That is just not me. The only worry I would ever have is that I had not taken the opportunity. That would worry me."

Forest begin their Championship campaign at home to Blackpool on August 9.