Blackstock: Forest have no room for error

DEXTER Blackstock believes Nottingham Forest have to get back to the kind of remarkable form they had been in over the last few months, just to keep pace with their Championship promotion rivals.

With Newcastle and West Brom both firing on all cylinders, the striker warns there is little room for error for the Reds.

But, if they can produce their best, Blackstock is confident Forest can sustain their push for a place in the Premiership.

"It seems that there is not much room for error at the minute, at the top of the table," he said. "With Cardiff losing, it does seem to be three teams fighting it out right at this moment – us, Newcastle and West Brom.

"There are still many points to play for, particularly in our next run, when we have games coming thick and fast in the next couple of weeks.

"But we have to keep things going if we want to remain up there. Things can change very quickly, so we just have to keep focused, keep going."

Blackstock, whose two goals earned Forest a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, says the whole team is fired on by the fight for places at the club.

And he admitted that, despite his contribution at the City Ground, he knows he will have to stay on his toes to keep his place.

"You never know with the Gaffer, he picks teams to win matches. If he does that and I am not in the side in the future, I will always come off the bench to try to do my best," he said.

"That is what the whole squad has done all season and I am sure all of us will continue."

Blackstock was pleased with his double, particularly the penalty.

"I got my foot behind the ball and went for the top corner and, fortunately, the keeper had no chance," he said.

"It was great to get the second goal just after Wednesday had equalised. I would not say we were at our best. It was a different kind of performance. We had to stand up and be counted.

"The referee did not help with some of his decisions but we showed a lot of character.

"For the second goal, it was my header first of all and it was a great save from the keeper. It came back and I was able to prod it in.

"It is a massive three points. A lot of people will have thought our bubble had burst. But, to put things into perspective, we had suffered one defeat in 21 games, which is a massive achievement. It shows how far everyone has come.

"It was a very tough game. They came here to play a certain way. They put the ball in the box and put us under a lot of pressure."