Chris Hughton will be hoping to see his Nottingham Forest side pick up from where they left off before the international break, as the Reds prepare to take on Barnsley this weekend.

Forest have started to pick up under their new manager, with Hughton yielding three wins from his first seven games in charge, witnessing his side lose only once.

Back-to-back wins before the international break saw Forest move into double figures for the season, building momentum in their bid to start climbing the league table.

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This weekend, Forest return to league action against Barnsley, as they prepare to travel to Oakwell for the second time this season.

After a positive start to life at the City Ground, a tough run of games is on the horizon for Forest. Five of their next six come against current top-six sides, therefore the Reds will need to be back at their best.

Here, we take a look at three words that sum up Hughton's tenure so far...

Improvement

First and foremost, there has been a clear improvement under Hughton since he walked through the doors at the City Ground.

Hughton came in and had to arrest a run of four straight defeats, with confidence at a major low under Sabri Lamouchi.

The win at Blackburn was very much of a smash-and-grab one, and draws with Rotherham, Derby and Luton before a loss at Middlesbrough brought them back down to Earth.

But the wins over Coventry and Wycombe were impressive, and Forest are now starting to take the game to their opposition rather than trying to nick it.

We are starting to see how Hughton wants his team to play, and you'd back them to keep on improving as weeks go by.

Unfocused

One thing that may have disappointed Hughton in recent weeks is Forest's lapses of concentration, particularly in the second-half.

They recorded back-to-back home wins over Coventry and Wycombe, but in both games, they were made to work hard for the three points.

After dominating in the first-half, Coventry came out flying in the second-half, grabbed an equaliser and really should have won the game, before Lyle Taylor converted from the penalty spot in injury-time.

Against Wycombe, Forest went into the break 1-0 up after dominating once again, but the introductions of Adebayo Akinfenwa and Garath McCleary caused the Reds problems and they could have grabbed an equaliser.

They had Taylor to thank once again as the striker's brace secured another win, but Hughton will be urging his side to remain fully focused for the full 90 minutes.

Consistency

Hughton has made it quite clear which players will be part of his plans going forward, with the 61-year-old refusing to make rash changes to his side despite a hectic schedule of late.

He has a settled backline in Cyrus Christie, Scott McKenna, Tobias Figueiredo and Yuri Ribeiro. Ryan Yates and Jack Colback have been regulars, with Samba Sow and Harry Arter also being given chances.

Anthony Knockaert and Joe Lolley have been regulars, too, whilst Lyle Taylor is their main man up top in the absence of Lewis Grabban.

During games, he doesn't tend to make too many tactical tweaks, either, so it remains to be seen whether the new five substitutes rule affects his trail of thought or not.