The international break meant there was no Championship action for Nottingham Forest over the weekend, but there is still plenty going on at the City Ground.
Here’s our round-up of the latest Reds news.
MILOSEVIC RELISHING BATTLE
There may ultimately have been a nerve jangling finish but, when Alexander Milosevic returned to his old club AIK last season, there was an expectation they would challenge for the title.
They knew, if they played to the best of their ability, in most games, that would be enough to get the job done.
And that largely proved to be the case, with AIK suffering only one defeat throughout the entire campaign, as they secured first place by two points, ahead of IFK Norrkoeping – with Milosevic’s presence in defence helping ensure they conceded only 16 goals in 30 games.
Having swapped his home country for the challenge of Championship football, Milosevic was not expecting life to be easy.
In fact, one of the main reasons he wanted to come to England was to test himself in one of the most demanding environments in European football.
And life at Nottingham Forest is proving to be everything the 27-year-old expected.
'BRUTAL HONESTY' CAN HELP FOREST IMPROVE
The "brutal honesty" of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane has helped Nottingham Forest players improve, says Ben Osborn.
The midfielder says the duo have a knack of delivering clear instructions, to ensure everyone knows what their role is out on the pitch.
Osborn, 24, says O’Neill and Keane have earned the respect of the Reds squad with their straight-talking approach.
And he hopes it will stand them in good stead as they head into the final weeks of the Championship season, starting with the visit of Swansea to the City Ground this weekend.
WHY YATES CAN GO TO THE TOP
Ryan Yates’ steady development into a first team regular at Nottingham Forest is proof of the value of sending players out on loan.
That is the message from Chris Cohen, who revealed the Under-23s coaching staff at the Nigel Doughty Academy talk regularly about which player might be their next Yates or Ben Osborn.
Cohen came up against Yates as a player, when his fellow midfielder was coming through the ranks with the Reds – and admits he would drive him to distraction at some points, because of his relentless determination.
But now he believes those exact qualities will help the 21-year-old to go on and have a good career at the highest level of the game.
And Cohen hopes other young players – and in particular Arvin Appiah - will regard Yates as being the example to follow, as they look to forge their own path in football.
WHY CARVALHO AND GRABBAN MUST START VS SWANSEA
Lewis Grabban looks set to make his return to the Nottingham Forest squad this weekend, with the striker back in training ahead of the visit of Swansea City.
The forward has bagged 15 league goals already this season in the Garibaldi, making him the Reds' highest scorer, but has missed the last six weeks with an Achilles injury .
Should Grabban be looking to return with a bang this weekend, he may need Martin O'Neill to hand teammate Joao Carvalho a start.
The £13m attacking midfielder has only started once since O'Neill took charge, in his side's 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the City Ground .
WHY MINGS SNUBBED FOREST
Tyrone Mings is confident he made the right decision snubbing Nottingham Forest to join Aston Villa on loan in January.
The defender, who is on loan at Villa Park from Bournemouth, attracted interest from a number of Championship clubs in January.
But he chose Villa, who are on a charge under manager Dean Smith, with four important victories on the spin over Derby, Birmingham, Middlesbrough and Forest.
Their turn of form has seen them leapfrog the Reds and climb inside the top six for the first time since September.
