Nottingham Forest went on to lose the game 2-1 and are dangerously close to the bottom three.
Nottingham Forest manager Philippe Montanier
A report in the Daily Mirror has claimed that Philippe Montanier left the majority of his Nottingham Forest squad surprised when he decided to pick Thomas Lam at centre-back for their clash with Cardiff City last weekend.
Forest went into the game having recently endured a torrid run of form. They had collected just one win since August, and had drawn with bottom side Rotherham and lost to third from bottom Blackburn Rovers along the way.
Nottingham Forest manager Philippe Montanier watches from the stands
With Cardiff also in the relegation mix, Montanier would have known that picking up a positive result at the City Ground was crucial.
However, it was Neil Warnock’s men that would be celebrating, largely thanks to an awful night for Lam. The Finnish defender looked out of sorts all game, and his poor evening was compounded when he was dismissed before the hour-mark when the score was already 2-0 to the Bluebirds.
Nottingham Forest’s Thomas Lam in action with Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia
And the Mirror is suggesting that Montanier’s decision to even pick the 22-year-old left some of the Forest squad shocked, and it appears that there concern was vindicated by the youngster’s display.
With a run of fixtures against sides that currently sit in and around mid-table, the Frenchman will know that his team will need to end their poor run of form swiftly if they want to avoid the gap between themselves and the bottom three being closed further.
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