Nottingham Forest have given themselves an important platform, but striker Lyle Taylor says it is crucial they now build on it.
The Reds made it six games unbeaten in all competitions at the weekend, as they progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Seeing off Cardiff City by Taylor’s early strike ensured back-to-back 1-0 victories, as boss Chris Hughton has made his team harder to beat.
The Forest front man is keen for “more creativity”, but stresses there is nothing wrong with winning by a single goal - with defensive solidity a priority.
"A lot of games are won by one goal. It's very rare you see teams winning by two, three or four goals,” he said.
"I know this game (against the Bluebirds) wasn't the league, but it was two teams from the same league and it's very competitive.
"It's small margins and we were on the right side this time.
“The next step is to build on that and add some more creativity… but as the manager will tell you, the platform you always have to build on is a clean-sheet.
“Because if you do not keep a clean-sheet, you have to score at least twice to get three points.
“I am not going to stand here and claim that we are free-flowing like Manchester City.
“But at the end of the day, there are a million and one ways to win games of football and, if this is how we can win games, this is how we have to do it.
“If you keep conceding goals, you are not going to pick up any points at all, never mind three points.
“So if we have to draw a game 0-0, we will do that.
“At the very least, we start the game with one point. That is the platform we have to build on; that is where every game starts.”
And Taylor says making the Reds more robust starts from the front.
The former Charlton Athletic man and fellow forward Lewis Grabban are just as key to keeping the opposition at bay as the rest of their teammates.
"You have to work so hard. It's one of the gaffers pillars - that we work hard,” Taylor added.
"That's back to front.
“That's not me and Grabbs excluded. We are inclusive of that. We have to be involved."
