Chris Hughton believes that Philip Zinckernagel's performances have been a real positive in what he says has been a 'difficult' period for his Nottingham Forest side.

Forest have endured a tough start to the Championship campaign, falling to three successive league defeats in their first three games.

But Zinckernagel, who arrived on loan from Watford a day before the season opener at Coventry, has already established himself as a bright spark for the Reds.

The Dane has made four appearances in all competitions, chipping in with three assists and scoring his first goal for the club in the midweek defeat to Blackburn Rovers.

Forest produced a disappointing performance on the night, but Zinckernagel provided inspiration when he arrowed a fierce left-footed drive in off the post from 25 yards to level the scores on the night.

Speaking to his press conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Stoke City, Hughton singled out Zinckernagel as a real positive for the Reds, in what has been a frustrating start to the season for the East Midlands club.

He said: "I don't think he's been the only positive, but of course it's been a difficult period. He's absolutely been a positive.

"He's a player who we chased for a lot of pre-season and the summer, and in the end, we were grateful that Watford were prepared for him to go out on loan.

"He has been a real plus for us. For what we wanted in the offensive areas, certainly he is producing the level which we wanted."

Zinckernagel will hope to inspire Forest to a positive result as they travel to the bet365 Stadium to face Stoke tomorrow afternoon.

The Potters have yielded seven points from their first three games, and beat Swansea City 3-1 away from home in midweek.