Sabri Lamouchi has branded Saturday's Championship clash against Bristol City as "must win", not just for Nottingham Forest but also for his future.
Lamouchi is a man under pressure at Forest after starting the season with four consecutive defeats in all competitions without a single goal scored, following a busy transfer window of recruitment.
Forest sold influential attacking right-back Matty Cash to Aston Villa but has signed 12 players and nothing has seemed to clicked for Lamouchi with results and performances turning the fanbase against him.
By contrast, Bristol City under Dean Holden possess an unblemished record in the Championship and sit top of the table ahead of their trip to the City Ground.
"It is absolutely a must-win game," the Frenchman told NottinghamshireLive. “And that means there is pressure on all of us, me first.
"It is strange, because in this situation we are thinking to change one guy (the manager), we will resolve the whole problem.
"But I know my words. I know my job. I know where I am. And I know the game on Saturday is really, really important for all of us - me first.
"I never worry about my job, because every morning I am working with passion and giving a lot of energy because I love my players.
"I focus on my job and trying to find the best option to get out of this situation."
Lamouchi took Forest to seventh in the Championship last season after they appeared certs to reach the top six, only to embarrassingly miss out on the final day of the season.
He has tried to address their attacking shortcomings by bringing in Lyle Taylor on a free transfer from Charlton and Miguel Ángel Guerrero from Olympiakos but they're yet to find the target.
It's made Forest appear like a poor relation of the team who drew 0-0 at Ashton Gate and then edged City 1-0 at the City Ground in Lee Johnson's penultimate match in charge.
“My feeling is clear. I don’t know what the result will be on Saturday, because we are playing the best team at the moment,” he said.
“They have a lot of momentum and are absolutely different to the Bristol City of last season. But the players are giving their maximum in training and they will give their maximum to win this game."
