Nottingham Forest head coach Sabri Lamouchi joked he might need to give Joe Lolley a kick before every game, after the winger shook off a knock to put in a sterling display against Birmingham City.
The Reds ace needed a spell of treatment during the pre-match warm-up at the City Ground on Saturday.
But any fears he might have picked up an injury were quickly allayed when he took to the pitch, with Lolley back to the kind of form which saw him crowned the club’s Player of the Year last time around.
The 26-year-old opened the scoring with a trademark shot, firing the ball into the bottom corner and out of the reach of Blues goalkeeper Lee Camp.
He then set up his team’s second, laying the ball on a plate for Lewis Grabban with a peach of a cross which was emphatically headed home.
And after a quiet start to the season by Lolley’s own very high standards, Lamouchi was pleased to see him play an integral part in the 3-0 victory.
“He received a kick on Friday,” said the Forest boss. “But I said to him after the game, ‘maybe I need to kick you before all games!’.
“It was a good performance from him and a good performance from everyone.”
