Head coach Sabri Lamouchi insists he doesn’t feel any added pressure as Nottingham Forest prepare for a game in which victory will secure a top six finish.
The Reds host Swansea City tomorrow night knowing a win will guarantee a play-off spot - and with it the potential for promotion to the Premier League.
That would be some achievement barely 12 months after Lamouchi was appointed at the City Ground, when - by his own admission - he arrived as something of an unknown in these parts.
Signing for a club with a reputation for a managerial merry-go-round meant he felt under the spotlight more when the campaign started in August than he does now.
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“I felt more pressure in the first month. I felt more pressure at the beginning,” said the former Rennes and Ivory Coast boss ahead of Wednesday’s showdown.
“If you remember, after a good performance we lost the first game (against West Bromwich Albion) and then we drew, with a goal a few minutes before the end, in Leeds in the second game.
“To have started with two losses, against two strong teams, for the new manager - who nobody knew before - I felt more pressure at that time than I do now.
“Now, it is exactly the same as every game.
“I prepare my players for the game tomorrow. And the game is a game, where the single details are important.
“My ambition is just to give the players the keys. After that, the players need to enjoy it; they need to play.
“They need to play with confidence and be bold. But not just for this game - it is like that for each game. It was the case for Preston, for Derby, for Fulham.
“I don’t feel more pressure now.
“To be honest, I felt more pressure at the beginning because when you sign here, you know a manager hasn’t finished the season for a long time.
“You know results will give you more time. In August, we started with a very strong schedule. Fortunately - and thanks to the boys - they gave me more time and we are where we are.
“Now, the pressure is all part of our job.”
Back when the season got underway with a 2-1 loss to the Baggies, Lamouchi admits even he was not confident his side would reach the position they currently find themselves in.
“No, never. Nobody was - also the players,” he said. “It was impossible to think that.
“If somebody said ‘yes’, it’s a lie!
“But after November and December, after Boxing Day (a 2-0 win at Hull City), after the end of January and after Brentford, or maybe after massive, impressive performances and results at West Brom, against Leeds, at Fulham and at Swansea, somebody could say, ‘why not this year?’.
“Maybe then, but not in the first month or the second month. Impossible.”
Should they fail to beat the seventh-placed Swans, the Reds will have two more bites of the cherry, with games against Barnsley and Stoke City before the season ends next Wednesday.
But Lamouchi is keen to wrap up a play-off place as quickly as possible.
“My speech is very easy. My players know the situation. They know the table, they know the results,” he said.
“They watched the game on Sunday (when Swansea lost to Leeds).
“They are focused. They are unbelievable.
“What more can I ask of them? Nothing. Just to do their job in the right atmosphere, focus on how we can disturb the opponent and to play as best as we can for the best result.
“If the result is very positive - fantastic. If not, we need to go to Barnsley to try to win.
“But we will go to Barnsley and try to win anyway. We will play Stoke for the win.
“When you are at a club like Nottingham Forest, there is only one way - to give your maximum for the win.”
He added: “I don’t want, and the players don’t want, for the season to finish next week on July 22.
“The target for everybody is to stay in the race and to play in the play-offs.
“After, we will see. But before that, we have a game to play.”
