Nottingham Forest midfielder Ben Watson admitted that not having Michael Dawson and Samba Sow has been tough for the Reds after they suffered back-to-back defeats.

Losses against Wigan and Hull, combined with the fact that Saturday's game against Reading was called off, has seen Sabri Lamouchi's side slip from second in the table to tenth.

However, Forest had to do without the influential duo for both games and Watson told Nottinghamshire Live that missing the pair was always going to be hard, although the 34-year-old insists that it's too early to panic about results.

"The first 10 games or so, they were both outstanding. Any team that loses a Michael Dawson and a Samba Sow, it’s going to hurt them. But we’ve got players who can come in and fill their boots.

"We know what this league is about. It’s 46 games. You’re not going to go through the season and lose one, two, three games. You’re going to lose more than that."

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Forest are back in action with a tough trip to Luton this weekend and they could move back into the top six with a win.

The verdict

There's no doubt that losing Dawson and Sow was partly why the Reds have lost their last two games because they had both started the season superbly and are real leaders.

But, the defeats weren't down to those who stepped in, Forest have been poor as a collective in the past two games.

Watson is experienced though, he knows that this can happen in the Championship and it's about staying calm and he will have a role to play in the dressing room to ensure the players don't get too down.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.