SO, WILL IT be glamour visits to the San Siro or Nou Camp or long, winding trips to Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands for Nottingham Forest next season?
For the first time since March 1996, the club will contest European football but it remains to be seen if it will be in the Champions League, Europa League or the Europa Conference League.
Entrance into all three competitions is on the table thanks to this victory over West Ham as captain Morgan Gibbs-White benefited from a first-half Alphonse Areola howler and Nikola Milenkovic’s second survived a lengthy VAR check.
Dreams of playing Inter Milan or Barcelona in money-spinning ties is a wonderful possibility but the seventh-placed side HAVE to beat Chelsea next Sunday at the City Ground and then hope someone else slips up.
It will be quite the bunfight – the only thing of unresolved interest on the final afternoon – and boss Nuno Espirito Santo must pray Forest’s miraculous season ends with Champions League qualification secured.
And there will be an anxious wait over the recovery of centre-half Murillo, who played the entire second half despite an ankle knock late in the first half.
This contest started in fast and frenetic fashion and both sides could have celebrated goals inside the opening 10 minutes.
Less than 120 seconds had elapsed when Vladimir Coufal, who is departing East London this summer, provided an excellent cross for compatriot Tomas Soucek.
And the towering Czech midfielder – who is subject of interest from Everton’s David Moyes – drew an exceptional one-handed save off Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.
It was one of the best saves of the year and emphasised why Sels deserves such plaudits.
At the other end, the East Midlanders went close through Gibbs-White and Chris Wood, who normally scores against claret-and-blue opposition, but both attempts were well blocked by Alphonse Areola.
The Frenchman was chosen in goal ahead of Lukasz Fabianski, one of four players leaving the club next month when their contracts expire.
Polish stopper Fabianski may have turned 40 last month but even at his advanced years, it is unlikely he would have been guilty of such a gaffe that Areola produced on 11 minutes.
The short pass from Max Kilman was begging to be booted upfield but Areola unforgivably committed the cardinal sin of passing it directly to Gibbs-White.
The England winger could scarcely believe his luck and his seventh goal of the season was probably the easiest one he will have the joy of finishing.
Gibbs-White ran off to the corner flag and held up a Forest shirt with ‘9’ on the back – the number worn by forward Taiwo Awoniyi – to pay his respects to his stricken teammate.
During the warm-up, Forest’s players all wore white T-shirts with a message on the front that said: “We’re all with you, Taiwo.”;;
The Nigerian is recuperating in hospital having been placed into an induced coma following surgery to repair a serious abdominal injury when he collided into a post.
The nature of that injury has led to a serious debate about the laws of the game given that the accident could have been avoided had he been flagged offside earlier.
Yet the assistant referee followed the current guidelines and allowed play to continue before the incident occurred late on in the 2-2 draw with Leicester.
An eerily similar situation occurred on 19 minutes here with Jarrod Bowen when the Hammers talisman smashed into one of the posts by mistake.
A physio appeared to give him a concussion test and while the captain was permitted to carry on, albeit with a large lump of vaseline above his right eye, the scenes would have brought back awful memories for the travelling contingent.
A post came to the savour of West Ham five minutes later as Wood saw his header bounce off the woodwork.
Fans that booed off West Ham at half-time were on their feet to pay appreciation for popular full-back Aaron Cresswell who was subbed off and now leaves the club, 11 years after his debut under Sam Allardyce.
Minutes after a quadruple substitution from the home side, however, Forest added a second when Milenkovic headed home from Anthony Elanga’s free-kick.
For Elanga, it was record-equalling 11th top-flight assist, which draws him level with Bryan Roy’s Premier League club record of 11 from 1994-95.
The 61st-minute goal was subject of a SIX-MINUTE VAR check for offside – Nicolas Dominguez’s foot was the issue – but the referee Sam Barrott spoke to both managers because the semi-automated offside technology was “not available”;; according to ref chiefs.
It was all very farcical but those Forest fans who had been singing “F*** VAR”;; were soon praising the tech as they celebrated a first league double over the Hammers since 1983-84.
There was a nervy finale when Bowen scored an exceptional volley on 86 minutes and ensured Nuno’s heart would be beating faster, especially during the 11 MINUTES of stoppage-time.
Forest held on, despite one of their coaching staff being booked for dissent, various yellow cards following a mass melee, and a crucial save by Sels from a powerful Niclas Fullkrug header in the 102ND-MINUTE has kept alive their Champions League hopes.
Many Hammers fans had decided to stay away, judging by the number of empty seats at the London Stadium.
Few stayed on for the lap of appreciation – perhaps that should be a lap of depreciation? – but they will demand major upheaval and significant improvement next season from Graham Potter’s troops.
