Head coach Sabri Lamouchi says Nottingham Forest will continue to look to move fringe players out of the club, in a bid to reduce the size of the squad.
Goalkeeper Luke Steele was the only one to depart on transfer deadline day last week, joining Millwall on loan until January, while the Reds took their total number of summer signings up to 12 with the capture of Chema Rodriguez and John Bostock.
It leaves them with 37 senior players still on the books - a number of who have been told they are free to find new teams.
And the Frenchman says he has been clear almost from the outset of his reign about who would and would not be part of his plans.
“This is the job for the club, and the club need to find the solution for the players,” he said.
“I was clear with all players; I spoke with all of them a long time ago.
“Of course now for you it is new, but for them, for everyone,
“For me, it is very important to work in a nice atmosphere and to work with a squad which is very focused.
“The decision was taken by me not yesterday, but a month ago.”
The likes of Michael Hefele, Liam Bridcutt, Daryl Murphy, Jason Cummings, Zach Clough and Gboly Ariyibi are all out of favour under Lamouchi, while Adlene Guedioura has asked the club to consider allowing him to leave.
And the Forest boss has taken the decision to work exclusively with those players who will be involved on match days.
“We worked just with the players travelling to Leeds,” he said of preparation for Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Elland Road.
“For this week, we will work only with the players for the whole season. So of course, we must make some choices.
“It’s not easy to make choices, but it is my job to do it.
“But for me, the best thing for the team, for the club, for the players and for me is to work with a squad really reduced, more focused and less players.
“With less players, the quality will be higher.
“We want to work in this atmosphere. That is my decision, because it is impossible to work with 29, 30, 32 players – a lot of players. You have more players not focused and you can only play with XI players.”
Having significantly strengthened during the window, Lamouchi is now happy all the focus can be on what happens on the pitch, with his team having registered their first point of the campaign against the Whites.
As the Reds look to mount a promotion push this term, he believes working with a smaller squad will allow everyone to focus on their ultimate goal.
“I’m happy the window is closed. Now we just need to focus on the games ,” he said.
“We know nobody can come (in) because the window is closed, so we need to focus on our players.
“The club tried to do the maximum.
“My request was to try to reduce the squad, because it is so big. I prefer to work with less players because I want all of them very, very focused on the season.
“We must make a choice, I gave them my choice and the club respected my decision. We are working to that.
“I think it is much better for the club, for the squad, for me, for everyone, to work with less quantity and with more quality, I hope – but especially with more focus about the big expectation from everybody here in Nottingham.”
