Head coach Sabri Lamouchi says Nottingham Forest will keep trying to push the top two until automatic promotion is mathematically impossible.
The Frenchman says there is “a small chance” of catching them, but insists it is a chance nonetheless as he called on his players to start believing in themselves.
Victory over Huddersfield Town on Sunday moved the Reds up to fourth ahead of the midweek round of fixtures taking place.
They host Bristol City on Wednesday night looking to make it back-to-back wins at the City Ground - and Lamouchi knows finding consistency, following the season’s restart, is going to be key in the fight for a place in the Premier League.
“What I want the players to believe is, maybe we have a small chance - but we have a chance,” he said, speaking before Tuesday night’s matches kicked off.
“And until we can’t (finish in the top two), we should try. Never give up. Always believe.
“Nothing is impossible in football.
“We need to understand that this situation is not a help for us, but it is not a help for anybody.
“I am watching a lot of games, and I think just Wolverhampton have won three games in a row in the Premier League. Just four teams have won two games in a row in the Championship - Brentford, Wigan, Derby and Cardiff.
“It is a really strange situation and strange preparation.
“For us, as managers, it is not easy to find the right solution and I know, for the players, it is not easy either.”
Forest have picked up four points from their first two games, as the campaign resumed following a three-month suspension due to the coronavirus crisis.
Matches are taking place behind closed doors, but Lamouchi says that comfortable 3-1 win over the Terriers can be a big confidence booster for his squad.
“It was good for the confidence of my players, because they need to understand - and they need to believe - why not? Why not them? They deserve to be where they are,” said the Frenchman.
“If you are looking at the best six teams head-to-head, they are the best.
“Of course we have had some bad results. Of course we have had some bad performances at times.
“But we deserve to be where we are. They need to believe in their own quality, because this team has quality. We have top players and a fantastic mentality, so they need to believe more.
“Especially for my players, this result was a massive result for them and their confidence because it’s a really strange situation with this pandemic and playing at the City Ground.
“We are lucky to have enjoyed playing in this fantastic atmosphere with our fans - and to play without them is not the same.
“I was really, really happy for them because it was a massive result - and they deserved it.”
It is heading towards crunch time in the season. Lamouchi has a different phrase for it - one he has often referred to in his press conferences.
“It is for this reason I choose the expression from basketball - the money time,” he said.
“What we have done until now is done and we can change nothing.
“But what we do until the end depends on us and we can change a lot of things.
“We just need to focus on that and everybody be ready 100 percent - all people around the team and all people at the club.
“We have to believe game by game and step by step.
“Bristol City will not be an easy game. They are a good team with very good players.”
