Nottingham Forest are entering the business end of the season with plenty to play for, as the race for the Premier League intensifies.
Head coach Steve Cooper has overseen a remarkable transformation in results, with the Reds putting themselves in a good position as the final few months approach.
Following Friday night’s postponed trip to Bournemouth, Forest head to Preston North End on Tuesday night, with a home game against Bristol City to come on Saturday.
Reds reporter Sarah Clapson answered fans’ questions and responded to comments in a live Q&A on our Forest Facebook page ahead of those two games.
Q: Ryan Yates has been our best player this season, surely he has to play against Preston?
A: I’d definitely agree he needs to be in the starting XI at Deepdale. Preston away seems like the type of game which is made for him.
The manager has said how pleased he was with Yates’ attitude when he was named on the bench against Stoke - just getting on with training hard, then making an impact when he did come on during that game.
I’m sure he felt he had a bit of a point to prove. And no doubt he’ll want to do the same again at Preston - prove that he shouldn’t be left out of the XI again.
It’s a difficult decision most weeks now, choosing who should play in midfield. Forest have got some good options there, with players who are in great form.
Whenever Cafu has been involved, he’s done his best to impress. And Braian Ojeda looked promising in his first few appearances.
But at the minute, you can’t look past Yates, James Garner and Jack Colback as the options for the first XI.
Yates has really proved a few critics wrong this season, and he keeps getting better under Steve Cooper. He’s become a key player and has developed so many aspects of his game.
I’m not sure I’d pick him out as being Forest’s best player of the season, though.
For me, Scott McKenna has to be in contention, along with Brennan Johnson and Djed Spence.
McKenna has been so consistent. He’s been a cornerstone of what has generally been a solid defence.
It says a lot, though, that already we have a few contenders to be player of the season. In years gone by, there’s sometimes been just one standout choice - perhaps two if you’re lucky.
This season, you could arguably make a case for anyone in the team.
Q: James Garner has to be player of the season, by a country mile.
A: In the last few weeks, he’s been brilliant. He’s got back to the kind of form he was showing in his first loan spell.
He did start the season slowly, though.
There was a lot of expectation around him when he came back in the summer, because he had made such a difference when he joined last January and had done so well.
The hope was that he would just pick up where he left off.
I think it was maybe a little difficult for him to come back to the club with that kind of expectation and to hit those kind of standards immediately.
It took him a little while to get going.
It probably didn’t help that it was a poor start from the team as a whole. Nobody was playing well at that point. And he had to get used to playing in front of the fans, because he didn’t have that last season. Young players always go through peaks and troughs, too.
He was then in and out of the team at first under Cooper. But when we asked the manager about Garner a few days ago, he pointed to the Reading game where he came off the bench and impressed.
Since then, he’s not been out of the starting XI. He’s become so important.
Out of Garner, Colback and Yates, Garner is the one who is most undroppable at the moment - not least because he can also play in that advanced role. That says a lot about how well he has been playing, because the other two have been excellent as well.
Q: Steve Cook has been a rock. Very unnoticed.
A: He’s been really impressive since he came in. It already feels like he’s been at the club longer than he has, because he’s slotted straight into the team.
A good relationship is already developing between him, Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna.
And what a defence that is! Plenty of clubs in the Championship would be envious of that back line. The three of them are just so solid; they’ll throw themselves in front of anything.
Cook looks like being a great signing. It’s hard to believe that he came in as a free transfer.
The kind of experience he brings can be invaluable. He’s been there, done that and knows what it takes to get promotion. That can make a huge difference, not just this season but beyond.
There are a few players who go under the radar. They might not always steal the spotlight, but they are just as important to the team doing well.
Max Lowe also comes into that bracket. He’s been really consistent. I can’t remember him having too many bad games.
He might not terrorise opposition defences quite to the extent Djed Spence does, but he’s very reliable defensively and he does still get forward a lot.
Q: Do you think Xande Silva should be given more game time? Looks like he needs a goal, a bit like Sam Surridge, to boost his confidence.
A: Whenever he’s come on, Silva has looked bright and lively. It’s just frustrating he’s not managed to get a goal yet.
He’s had a few decent chances where you’d expect him to at least work the goalkeeper, if not score.
Maybe it does become a confidence thing when you’ve missed a few opportunities. If he can get one, that will help.
I’m not sure he’s going to be a regular goal scorer, but he can still offer something and be a useful option from the bench.
He can be a good impact sub in that he can come on and cause a few problems, stretch defenders when they are tiring.
Q: How do you see Alex Mighten fitting in now? Personally, I recommend him going on loan - good player but needs games.
A: It’s going to be tough for him to get into the starting XI at the minute. He’s going to have to be patient.
He is only just coming back from injury and is working his way up to fitness, so it’s likely he’ll only be playing a few minutes here and there at first anyway.
If he hadn’t picked up the injury and Forest had managed to strengthen in the wide areas in January, it would have been interesting to see if a loan had been considered.
It might be something that gets looked at in the summer, though.
He is at an age where he’d really benefit from playing regularly.
For the rest of this season, it’s going to be about trying to take his chance when he gets one. Even if he’s not starting games, he can still make an impact from off the bench. He can be a difficult prospect for defenders late on in games - he’s got pace, he’s lively and he’ll try to make things happen.
He’s still got a lot of developing to do - it’s easy to forget how young he is. But he is rated very highly and looks to have a bright future.
Come next season, though, a loan move might well be good for his development. Just look at what it did for Brennan Johnson.
Q: When is Lewis Grabban back?
A: He’s expected to be out for two months. Nothing has changed on that front at the minute.
The injury happened just before deadline day, so that would likely put any return at early April - when you factor in Grabban having to get back match fit.
A positive is that he’s not undergone surgery; the injury is just going to heal naturally. We’re told that shouldn’t affect the timescale for his comeback - it was a similar time-frame whether he had to have an operation or not.
Hopefully he is involved in the last few weeks of the season. It would be great to see him back out there, particularly as his contract is up in the summer - and there hasn’t been any developments on that front, as far as we’re aware.
He was having such a great season, hopefully he can still have a say at the business end. It would be great if he came back when there is still plenty for Forest to play for.
I was worried when he got injured that Forest wouldn’t have enough goals in the side. But it’s been great to have been proved wrong!
