Nottingham Forest head coach Sabri Lamouchi says nothing should be read into the absence of Arijanet Muric and Rafa Mir from his matchday squad at Hull City.
The on-loan duo, who have been regulars on the bench this season, were not included among the substitutes for the 2-0 victory at the KCOM Stadium.
With both having struggled to make an impact for the Reds since joining in the summer, it would come as little surprise to see their loans ended early with a return to their parent clubs in January.
Manchester City goalkeeper Muric started the campaign as first-choice between the posts, but lost his place to Brice Samba and has not played for Forest since the Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal in September.
Mir, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, has made 13 appearances in the Garibaldi - all but four as a substitute - and has yet to find the back of the net.
Lamouchi, though, insists it was simply his choice to leave the pair out of his 18 against the Tigers.
“No, it was nothing special,” he said, when asked if there was anything to read into the omission of Muric and Mir, ahead of the transfer window.
“It was just our decision, and nothing else.”
A brace from Lewis Grabban sealed the three points for Lamouchi’s men, taking his tally up to 12 for the season and ending a five-game winless run for his team.
The striker is far and away the Reds’ leading scorer this season, with Joe Lolley his nearest challenger, on three league goals.
With Mir the only other recognised forward in the squad, Lamouchi is well aware of Grabban’s importance to the side.
“I am so worried about him, because he is our leader, our striker and he has made the difference for us by scoring a lot of goals," said the Frenchman.
"He is a fantastic player and a fantastic man.
“He deserved to score and he deserved the Man of the Match award. But all of the lads deserved the victory.
“It was fantastic. The clean-sheet, for me, is really important.
“The mentality was good.
“Now, we just need to recover and think about Wigan at home (on Sunday). I have bad memories of Wigan - we lost there despite having a lot of chances.
“We just need to be consistent, efficient and all together, like we were at Hull.
“We have to keep calm, keep working and keep going.
“To win at Hull is not easy, but we did it.
“Now it’s Wigan at home.
“We have not played one easy game all season, so I know Sunday will not be easy. But we must play in our way, with our quality, in front of our fans.”
