Nottingham Forest head coach Sabri Lamouchi hailed a “massive result” for his team - but continued to play down their chances of chasing down the automatic promotion spots.
The Reds beat Bristol City 1-0 thanks to Tiago Silva’s stunning free-kick, to make it back-to-back wins at the City Ground.
It meant they took a big step towards securing a top six finish in the Championship.
But Lamouchi says they have a “small chance” of catching Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion.
“It is impossible to think about that, especially when you look at the way we play, where we are physically and what we are doing,” he said.
“We have to be realistic.
“We are having a fantastic season.
“We have to keep going and take it game by game.
“Honestly, the small chance is very, very small. Because for that, we need to be brilliant.
“We have a fantastic squad and perfect mentality, but we are suffering a lot.
“If you want to go up directly, you need talent, you need players, you need luck - and we are a lot of points behind.”
After a first half in which they found themselves on the back foot for long spells, Silva’s moment of magic proved decisive for the hosts.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men late on, when Ashley Williams was sent off, but still kept pressing Forest.
It meant Lamouchi was delighted to secure a clean-sheet in the end.
“It is a massive result. A great, important victory,” he said. “I am happy for the boys - not just for the victory, but especially for the clean-sheet.
“The first half was not so good and we suffered. The second was more decent.
“But we deserved to win.
“We have a lot of games in this critical moment, but I am very, very happy for this massive result.
“The season is still not finished. We still have a minimum of six games to play. We have to adapt to the situation - we knew that from the beginning.
“The result is the most important thing. We have taken seven points from nine, and two victories at home in a row.
“It is an important game for all of us on Saturday (against Derby County), and it will be an interesting game to play.
“It is difficult. It is difficult for Bristol. It will be difficult for Derby. It is difficult for everyone to play every three days after a long stop and with short preparation.
“The games are not like before. You see a lot of mistakes and not much rhythm; not the same intensity or atmosphere.
“To keep the focus high, is a fantastic performance, for me.
“The clean-sheet was important and the three points as well.”
