Gaetan Bong's time on the pitch for Nottingham Forest could have been as bad as it was brief before last weekend.
Signed from Brighton in January, the 32-year-old left-back made his debut in February's 1-0 defeat to Charlton.
He had a nightmare as Forest were beaten in a match that was arguably the beginning of the end for Sabri Lamouchi.
At one stage, he was exiled from the senior squad, arguably fourth choice left-back in a bloated squad and was left off the first team page on the club website.
However, the Cameroonian was handed a lifeline in another 1-0 defeat, this time to Middlesbrough at the weekend, when new manager Chris Hughton showed his faith in Bong having worked with him at Brighton.
That faith was rewarded as Bong put in a creditable display when covering for the suspended Nicholas Ioannou.
Hughton says that came as no surprise as he believed in Bong's mental strength to bounce back from his debut disaster.
"I know Bong very well. I know his character," he told Nottinghamshire Live.
"What I've had to do in a short period of time is to pick a team for each game. When I came here Iaoannou had played in the game before and (Tyler) Blackett had been brought in.
"I had to look at certain circumstances. I thought Saturday was the right game for Gaetan.
"They had a direct physical style and he did well.
"I know him. He's a strong character and even in his time around the club when he wasn't playing, people will tell you his attitude was first class."
Despite that, it is not guaranteed that Bong will keep his place against Coventry City on Wednesday night.
Yuri Ribeiro is now fully fit after an ankle injury and Hughton says he is definitely in his thoughts having been named in Forest's 25-man squad submitted to the EFL.
"He's very much in the frame. He's fit and very much part of things," Hughton told The Athletic this afternoon.
