Moving into the top six hasn’t even merited a mention at Nottingham Forest’s training ground since Wednesday night’s win at Blackburn Rovers.
And boss Steve Cooper has emphasised that breaking into the play-off spots should not be classed as an achievement.
The Reds went sixth with their 2-0 victory at Ewood Park in midweek, having risen from bottom of the league back when Cooper arrived in September.
But the Welshman has stressed that if his team are to have a shot at securing promotion, they have to stay focused on the task in hand - starting with trying to pick up three points at home to Stoke City tomorrow.
“I don’t know if it changes how other teams look at us, but it’s not even got a mention at the training ground,” Cooper said.
“There are teams with games in hand and there’s a long way to go yet.
“We just know we’ve got a three-game week, the next game is tomorrow, and that’s where our focus is - trying to be in the best place possible to play against a strong Stoke team.
“Everything apart from that is not something I’ve really thought about.”
He added: “It’s not an achievement. Some teams have games in hand and there’s a lot of football to be played.
“You don’t get anything for a league position in the middle of February. If anyone is thinking like that, then that’s not for me.
“We’ve played well in the last couple of games, but we have to make sure we commit to doing the same against Stoke. Thinking about anything else, other than understanding what it takes to play well and beat Stoke, is not important.”
Forest had to show a different side to their character in a bruising encounter with Rovers, but still found a way to win.
“You know how you want every game to look, and you want to play in a certain way that you do day in, day out. But it’s not always as simple as that,” Cooper said.
“You want to try to win in the way you believe in, but sometimes if that means you have to adapt, then you have to be able to show you can do that as well.”
