Despite their crushing defeat at the hands of rivals Derby County, the play-off push is still well and truly on for Nottingham Forest.
Losing to your bitter rivals is one of the worst fates imaginable in football, and understandably it takes a while to get over it. Unfortunately in a league like the Championship, there’s no time to even breathe given the quantity of games that teams have to contend with.
That could end up being a blessing in disguise for Nottingham Forest, who do not have time to dwell on the defeat. They would have known that win, lose or draw their focus needed to switch to the upcoming City Ground double header against Preston and Wolves.
Derby County’s Chris Baird in action with Nottingham Forest’s Ben Osborn
With the home crowd behind them these are two winnable games, but both teams will pose a serious threat in terms of fire power as they’ve shown over the last few weeks.
In terms of Forest’s own promotion charge, everyone knows that logic goes out the window for a derby game. Even without that consideration, McClaren’s men are the form team in the Championship right now and there aren’t many more difficult fixtures in the division at the present moment.
The City Ground general view before clash with Hull
The important thing for Forest is how they respond, and that they come out of the other side fighting. There’s no one game that can define a season and despite the feeling of disappointment right now, the Preston game provides the chance for a clean slate.
Nottingham Forest manager Philippe Montanier
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