Nottingham Forest boss Colin Calderwood has no plans to stop his policy of backing referees.

Even when Stuart Attwell produced a controversial display earlier in the season when Forest drew at Derby County, Calderwood refused to criticise the official and he has no qualms about taking such a stance.

He told the Evening Post: "If we didn't have referees, we wouldn't have a game. We need them.

"We have to try to understand and work with them. There's no way we can do without them. They are the rulers of the game.

"We have to be very careful. The respect is there, to a degree. But some of the criticism over decisions is foolhardy sometimes. The criticism has to be guarded.

"Managers have to comment on decisions sometimes. There's no way I couldn't have commented about what happened at Derby.

"But you have to be reasonable. You can't be too hyper-critical of what happens. We've been even-handed through my time with criticism.

"You have to understand the rules as well, which we do. But sometimes the media don't."