Daryl Murphy has heaped praise on his Nottingham Forest teammates Yohan Benalouane and Alexander Milosevic for the way they have both performed in defence so far this season.

Benalouane and Milosevic have developed a formidable partnership at the heart of the Reds defence over recent weeks and have played an important part in the team's success.

Murphy was quick to praise the duo for their contribution to the team so far.

“They are very good players, they are solid and no-nonsense. That is certainly the case with Yohan, alright!” said Murphy, as quoted by the Notthingham Post.

“They have been good and I think we needed that aggressiveness. That is the word for them, because they do go all in, for every challenge. That is what you want.

“As a striker you play against central defenders all the time – and it would not be nice playing against those two, I can tell you that.

“They are the kind of defenders that you do not like playing against, as a striker. Particularly when there is two of them there, with the same attitude, I can tell you that.

“They are on the same wavelength. Both of them are aggressive, both of them like to tackle and both of them have been brilliant for us.”

The Verdict:

Murphy is correct. These are exactly the sort of players that you need in your team.

The striker will know exactly what it is like to face these two have coming up against them in training and he is right that few strikers in the Championship would relish a battle with either one of them.

While Benalouane and Milosevic are slightly different players, they both share the same level of passion and commitment. This is something that has served Forest well since both players arrived at the club earlier this year.

While they are certainly both aggressive, no-nonsense defenders, they also pose a serious threat for Forest from set-pieces.

With Martin O'Neill's side looking to finish the season in the play-off places, Murphy and Forest fans alike will be hoping that the defensive duo can continue their impressive form for the rest of the campaign.