The importance of Lewis Grabban to Nottingham Forest’s hopes of finishing inside the Championship’s top six is obvious to anyone.
He just scores goals and the records prove just how vital he is to the Reds’ promotion charge, but could his current haul could be a good omen?
Despite being on the periphery of Sunday’s 3-1 over Luton Town at the City Ground, Grabban still popped up with a goal in the closing minutes to seal a huge three points, killing off any lingering hope the visitors may have had.
In scoring his 15th goal of the campaign so far coming in just 27 outings, Grabban became the first Forest striker to net that many in successive seasons since Stan Collymore - a time many will remember fondly.
That came way back in 1993/94 and 1994/95 when Forest won promotion from the First Division and then finished 3rd in the Premier League with Collymore netting 25 times in each season.
Last term, Grabban netted 17 goals in his 41 league and cup outings, missing a chunk of the campaign through injury.
With a game against Reading to come on Wednesday night, Grabban could better last season’s tally in less than half the games.
It’s therefore no wonder Lamouchi hailed the 32-year-old recently.
“Grabban is our leader, our striker and he can make the difference,” Lamouchi said after his brace in the 2-0 win at Hull on Boxing Day.
“He is a fantastic player, a fantastic man and he deserved to score.”
