“Sabri, you’ve got 10 games left to go…”
Normally so patient and respectful, it’s not very often the Nottingham Forest manager will interrupt a question. That he did so on this occasion, said much about the Frenchman’s meticulous attention to detail, as well as his great sense of ambition.
“Minimum.”
“Sorry?”
“Minimum 10 games to go, although I prefer to play just 10 more games.”
Sabri Lamouchi has a top six finish in his sights - and hasn’t ruled out hunting down the top two.
Either way, whether it be with extra play-off matches or automatically, do not underestimate his desire to get this team back in the top-flight.
If that means spending some of his (no doubt limited) free time analysing the run-ins of the Reds’ promotion rivals, then so be it.
“I just want to focus game by game,” said the Frenchman.
“I know exactly the schedules for each team - for West Brom, Leeds, Fulham, Brentford, Bristol City, Blackburn, Swansea. I know them exactly.
“We will be surprised at the end.
“I want to prepare myself for the emotional situation, so I want to prepare the players for that, too.
“The best way to prepare the players for that is just to be ready. And to be ready, is just to do what we know to do and nothing else.”
If he does use any spare hours in the day to calculate different permutations about how the season may pan out, Lamouchi is giving little away.
“I am just looking,” he said, when asked about analysing other sides’ fixture lists. “I just have a look; make some numbers in my mind for play-offs, for promotion. But just because I have time!
“I just want to focus on my players, to find the right solution for the best line-up and to get maximum points.
“There are 30 more points available, so it’s just about how many we can get at the end.
“I just want maximum points.”
Forest currently sit fourth in the Championship table ahead of hosting Millwall on Friday night.
The gap to the top two stands at eight points; nine to the leaders West Bromwich Albion.
Six points separate them from seventh-placed Bristol City.
Lamouchi knows improvement is needed from the performance on Monday night, when his team needed a late Lewis Grabban goal to claim a 2-2 draw at struggling Middlesbrough.
“My team, my players, my squad have worked so hard from day one and they deserve to trust more, to believe more, but also to do more,” he said.
“If you want to do something special and amazing, you need to do your best and give your best every day; every single session and, of course, every game.
“Sometimes, when you maybe have a wrong day, you need to switch on and understand the situation, to adapt, to be clever and smart.
“I talk about consistency and efficiency, it is exactly the same.
“We don’t just need to be efficient in the two boxes, but also in the performances.
“We don’t need to be brilliant to win the game, we just need to do what it is necessary to do to get the victory.”
After a long journey back from the north east, it is a quick turnaround for the Reds as they welcome the Lions.
But at this stage of the campaign, Lamouchi says preparation is less about his players taking new information on board or working on fitness, and more to do with focusing the mindset.
“The schedule affects nothing because now we are just working on the mental aspects, not physically,” he explained.
“It is not tactically now, it is not physically now, just mentally.
“Mentally you need to be ready. Ready to give more effort. Ready to be clever and smart.
“If you can, do it. If you can’t, you need to adapt yourself.
“You don’t give anything for the opponent and just play with your quality.
“If on Friday night our quality is limited, we need to play 100 percent focused.
“We need to play 100 percent for the victory and without any regrets at the end.
“What is important is to start the game how we know we can and focus on our performance.
“We play at home, the fans with us, with everyone having the same goal - to win. We just have to think about that, not think about the opponent.
“Of course we know what to expect in some situations and that they are dangerous; they have some quality and some weaknesses as well. But we just need to focus on us.
“If at the end of the game, players, staff and manager are all happy with the performance, we will be not so far away from the three points.”
Their opponents are 10th, still in with a chance of making the play-offs given they are just five points adrift.
“It will be a tough game, like usual,” Lamouchi said.
“They have a good manager with experience of different teams in the Championship.
“They have good players as well, and a good dynamic. Their spirit is positive.
“They want to be in the play-offs, and they are not so far away.
“I was not here last season, but Aston Villa at this same moment were out of the play-offs - and we know the end of the story.
“I am not alone in knowing that. A lot of managers, teams and players know that if you play with consistency, you can be surprised at the end.”
