Nottingham Forest's Kris Commons has joined forces with The FA to bring you an insight into life at the City Ground.

This week the talented midfielder looks back on a busy week on the South Coast, where Forest took on Salisbury and Bournemouth, as well as a less than glorious attempt at the Crossbar Challenge.

Hi everyone.

It's been a long week, but it's all part and parcel of being a footballer. We went down to Salisbury on Saturday and didn't get back home until the early hours on Wednesday. It was probably a bit too long.

We went into both games thinking we should win both, but it's not been an ideal week.

We are still in The FA Cup, but only just.

I never had the feeling we were going to lose to Salisbury, even when they scored. I just thought it was going to be a frustrating afternoon.

It was as if we were hoping to get through rather than putting extra pressure on them by putting balls in the right areas. Instead we kept kicking the ball out and giving fouls away. It put extra pressure on us got the home crowd fired up.

I have never played on a pitch like that before. It was just so wet and soft. I put studs on but I could have worn pit boots and the result would still have been the same.

In the end they more than deserved a draw. We hope to put that right on Tuesday in the replay.

After the game we went to a hotel in Bournemouth. It would have been good if we could have come home and relaxed. Seeing the same faces for three nights was probably too much.

We started off quite well against Bournemouth before Nathan Tyson went off early - he got a bang on the head and lost his sight in one eye. That was a massive loss. When you spend a couple of days working on a formation, then something like that happens, you begin to think it might be one of those games. We could have clinched it but they passed it well and deserved it. We have Crewe tomorrow. We need to put our foot on the gas and play some football.

We travelled back home after the game and were back in training on Thursday. The Sky cameras came along to film us doing the Crossbar Challenge for Soccer AM.

I have to say I think it was the worst ever - it was horrific. We all got a go but I'm not sure which ones they will use on the show. The gaffer went closest. I shanked mine, it was not good. We did not warm up and just started blazing balls when we came out, but that's no excuse.

Everyone likes Soccer AM. You know what they are going to say and do every week, but it still makes you laugh.

Earlier in the month I won the FA Cup Player of the First Round and this week won the Nationwide Player of the Month for League One. Awards like that are magnificent. They give you a lot of confidence and it's always nice when you get recognition for playing well.

It's been a good month personally, it's just a shame it did not end too well.

Some questions for Kris...

Who controls the dressing room stereo and what do they play before a game?
Gary Bevan
We have a big iPod system - normally me, Nicky Southall and Ian Breckin decide what goes on. We went through a spell of listening to Snow Patrol, the Killers and the Fratellis. We listened to some rock stuff too. More recently it's been late '80s and early '90s dance music - that was Nicky Southall's era when he was going out.

Is there any advice you could give to young footballers who are aspiring to achieve what you have, playing for the club you've always supported?
Louis Cherkaoui
Dedication and hard work. I believe if you are good enough, there is no doubt you will go on and achieve what you want. If you play regular football, there are always scouts there. If there are, just relax and play your normal game.

Do you have any tips for taking free-kicks?
Shaun Pridden
When I place the ball I use the logo, like the Mitre or Umbro sign, as a target. That is what I am aiming for. I then pick the line where I am going to hit the ball. Once I have done that I only look at the ball, concentrating on hitting the logo. I have quite a vicious shot, so I'm hoping with the movement of these new balls, it might be too good for the 'keeper. If you hit it with some power and on target then you have a chance.

Out of the current squad, who would you say you are closest to? Also, we hear about Rune Pedersen's choice of trainers in every match programme, but who is the centre of the jokes?
Hugo Sumner
I'd probably say Ian Breckin is my closest friend. He's a good guy. With me on set-pieces and him top scorer last year, we had some good banter. When I was out for ten games he did not score - he must have missed me! He's got a lovely wife and kid - me and my missus often go over to see them.
Rune's trainers - oh God! They are awful. He's got some really bad gear. We normally put his stuff in our fridge. Gino Padula has some terrible jumpers too.

Would you like to ask Kris a question? You could ask who his footballing heroes were, or what other sports he likes? Email your questions to editor@TheFA.com.

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