The season is about to get very real for Nottingham Forest as they enter into a crucial run of games.
Back to back wins over Coventry and Wycombe Wanderers has moved the Reds away from the drop zone and into 18th place.
With tough games against Bournemouth and Swansea next, our writers believe this is the acid test that will show just how far they have turned the corner.
The next six games look like this:
Nottingham Forest V Bournemouth
Swansea City v Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest v Blackburn Rovers
Rotherham United v Nottingham Forest
Derby County v Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest v Luton
Speaking on our Garibaldi Red podcast, Sarah Clapson and Leigh Curtis discussed the run of fixtures ahead.
Leigh Curtis: "I fancied Forest to beat Wycombe 2-0, it ended up being 3-0. You would expect Forest to beat Wycombe, we have seen them beat the teams around them.
"The real test is going to come against Bournemouth next week. Obviously they are struggling themselves a bit, but that will be a good measure of where Forest are and what we can expect from the rest of the season because they have struggled against the better sides."
Sarah Clapson: "They have a really tough run coming up. It's difficult, but these are the games that they need to win if they are going to stay up. You need to be beating Wycombe and Coventry, and things look positive because they have been on this great run, but what will really show if they have turned that corner and can kick on as a team is if they can pick up the results in the next few weeks.
"It's difficult to say where they are at the moment because they have looked good, had tough moments, but that has been against those teams they should probably be expected to beat.
"The Bournemouth game is going to be a really tricky one but they will go into it full of confidence and there's no reason why they can't get a result if they play at the levels they can.
Their thoughts were echoed by viewers of the podcast:
Gary P: We beat wwfc, perspective will come over the next few weeks.... Even given that, the first half on Saturday was awful
Ian Carrington: So far we have managed to get points from struggling teams but not from the better ones. Time will tell if the mini revival continues or we get blown away by average to good sides.
Dan Cook: Bournemouth is an ideal test for our improved form. Draw or win would show improvement, defeat wouldn’t be end of the world.
Nottingham Forest legend Garry Birtles had his say:
"We are still not where we need to be, but two or three wins and a bit of consistency and things can quickly turn around.
"There is nothing to fear going to Swansea or anywhere in the Championship.
"If you didn't know where Forest were in the league you would look at the Forest squad and think it wasn't bad, and they should be doing alright.
"But we are not doing alright. We are doing a hell of a lot better. We have momentum at the moment, and the clean sheet against Wycombe was excellent for morale.
"Going into these game we don't need to fear anyone. People need to worry about us and the players we have in our squad.
"It's a different Nottingham Forest now, we are having more possession, more shots on target, better in the final third.
"That is a massive positive for everyone at the club."
