Head coach Sabri Lamouchi wants his Nottingham Forest players to relish the opportunity in front of them, as they aim to close the gap at the top of the Championship table.
The fifth-placed Reds play their game in hand tonight, a rearranged clash with Reading at the City Ground.
A fourth consecutive home win would move them to within three points of league leaders West Bromwich Albion.
But Lamouchi insists he is not concerned with chasing the automatic promotion spots, focusing instead on ensuring his team approach taking on the Royals in the right way.
“I’m not thinking about the top two, I am just thinking about three points against Reading,” said the Frenchman.
“I hope there isn’t pressure, but I also hope yes at the same time because without pressure, you will never go over your limit. You will play all the time under control.
“I don’t want to play under control.
“What the players have done until now is fantastic. They just need to stay at this level, be very focused and enjoy it.
“I prefer the pressure of being where we are than the pressure when you’re fighting for your lives in the league.
“It is a different pressure; a good pressure.
“The players are professional and they know that.
“I will try to find the right way to help the players play without any pressure and enjoy it, because we are playing at home and we are playing for something important at the end.
“Yes, we could close the gap if we win - if! So we just need to focus on the performance.
“I don’t think we have more pressure (than before).
“Nobody one month or two months ago would imagine this.
“We are lucky to play this game at home, lucky that we are living in a great moment now. We just have to enjoy it and keep going.”
Forest played Reading little more than a week ago in the reverse fixture, when they were denied victory in the dying seconds.
Ben Watson had put the visitors ahead in added time at the Madejski Stadium, only for an unfortunate Tobias Figueiredo own goal almost immediately after to leave it at 1-1.
Lamouchi expects a different game this time around, however.
“It will be more complicated than playing them there, because they will probably try to be patient and play on the counterattack,” he said.
“They have got some good players and are a good team. They’ve picked up some great results.
“They lost their last game away (at Millwall), but our last game against them was really tough - not only on the pitch, but especially the emotion which came with it at the end.
“It is a different situation because we are playing at home. We need to give the best performance for the best result.
“Of course we need to be more creative in the final third, take our chances and disturb them more.
“But I was happy with the first half (at Reading). I was happy until the 96th minute.
“Unfortunately we came back with just one point, but I said immediately after the game that it was a fair result.
“This will be a different game; a different situation.
“We are playing at home and it is important for us to start the game in the right way.”
Figueiredo missed Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Luton Town with a slight injury, and remains a doubt for tonight’s clash.
“He is much better than before the Luton game,” Lamouchi said. “We just need to take care of all the players.”
And with another big crowd expected on the banks of the Trent, Lamouchi has once again stressed the difference Reds fans can make.
“What the players have done until now is just unbelievable, but the past is the past. We need to focus on what we can do until the end,” he said.
“We need the fans. We need the support right the way until May.”
