Nottingham Forest must bounce back from their defeat to Luton by beating West Brom on Monday afternoon, according to David Prutton.
The Reds were beaten 1-0 due to a controversial penalty decision, whilst Djed Spence had a goal ruled out for offside. Defeat in Bedfordshire means the Reds are now seven points adrift of the two automatic promotion spots and four points comfortable in the play-off positions.
Steve Cooper admitted after the defeat - which ended a 10-game unbeaten run and five consecutive wins - that he anticipated his side dropping points somewhere before the end of the season.
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"We were going to lose a game at some stage. We were on a good run, in good form, playing well and scoring goals," he said.
"I’ve said to the players everything I’ve just said, plus we were going to lose a game at some stage - even if we didn’t really deserve to lose. Now we have to show that we can handle that. I don’t want to see any disappointment on the training ground. We get on with it. I’ve said to the players, we’ve shown lots of our good sides to our game and to our mentality. We need to show another one for Monday.
"Nobody wants to lose a game. But we’ve lost a game, so we’ve got to show we can deal with that and move on quickly. I’ve said to them, if I see any disappointment on the training ground, then that’s when I’ll really have the hump. That will be our approach.
"Whatever happened in this game, we were still going to play West Brom on Monday. So stick to the plan and the approach, get the frustration out of us. We love working for and playing for this huge football club, so let’s go represent it as best we can in the next game."
Forest have the perfect opportunity to force out any frustration picked up in Bedfordshire when West Brom visit on Monday afternoon.
Steve Bruce's side have been plagued by inconsistencies of late having won two and lost two of their last four matches. Such a run of form leaves them in 11th, five points behind the play-offs but with only four games left.
The Reds have enjoyed brilliant form at the City Ground since the turn of the new year - no other Championship team is unbeaten at home in 2022 - and it is no surprise, therefore, to see Prutton predicting Forest to come out on top.
"That narrow defeat to Luton on Friday will have hurt Forest, who were riding high after winning five games on the trot before that," he wrote for Sky Sports. "It is clear to see they will be out to put the record straight and make sure they finish inside the top six, with their place far from secure.
"A cautiously optimistic West Brom boss Steve Bruce has asked the question: "In football anything can happen. But I still think we have too much to do. It's still 'what if?'". The Baggies have been written off as late play-off contenders by many, but I think Monday's game will well and truly put any talk to bed."
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