Defender Steve Cook believes Nottingham Forest can send out a “big warning sign” to their promotion rivals if they beat Bournemouth on Friday night.
The seventh-placed Reds are 11 points behind the Cherries, in second, ahead of their trip to the Vitality Stadium.
For Cook, it is a return to the club where he made almost 400 appearances and achieved two promotions in a decade-long spell.
He was almost an ever-present during Bournemouth’s five years in the Premier League - and is desperate to get there again, this time with Forest. And he feels three points on familiar territory would send out a statement to the rest of the division.
Transfer battle
Nottingham Forest could face a fight to secure the services of winger Jed Wallace come the end of the season.
The Millwall ace was a target for the Reds last month, but ended up staying put and is now in the last few months of his contract in south London.
It means he is set to become a free agent in the summer, and is unlikely to be short of potential options when it comes to deciding his next destination.
According to Football League World, Premier League Burnley “remain very keen” on the 27-year-old and are “ready to up their interest”.
Samba warning
Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba must learn from his "big mistake" against Stoke City at the weekend.
Reds head coach Steve Cooper has been clear in his messaging towards the shot-stopper, following his sending off in the 2-2 draw.
Samba was handed a straight red card by referee Leigh Doughty for swatting Phil Jagielka around the back of the head, leading to the hosts being a man down for the final minutes and conceding a penalty.
He will now be suspended for three games, starting with Friday night’s trip to Bournemouth - and his manager is keen for the 27-year-old to realise just how costly any repeat of that incident could be in the final months of the season.
Practice match
Nottingham Forest took plenty of “positives” from a practice game against Norwich City this week, ahead of Friday night’s crunch clash at Bournemouth.
After a busy start to the month, the Reds had no midweek match this week, instead hosting the Premier League Canaries behind closed doors at the City Ground.
As well as being a chance for some players to get valuable minutes, head coach Steve Cooper also used it as an opportunity to work on tactics - and to take a look at some younger players.
“It was really good. I hope they’d say the same,” the Welshman said. “It had been planned a while.
