Nottingham Forest head coach Sabri Lamouchi has insisted that goalkeeper Brice Samba must remain focused, after he kept another clean sheet and saved a penalty against Wigan Athletic yesterday.

The French-Congolese goalkeeper has been something of a revelation since joining the Reds in the summer, keeping seven clean sheets in 19 Championship appearances.

The 25-year-old produced another fantastic display in the 1-0 win over Wigan on Sunday and pulled off a number of impressive saves, as the Reds' recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since the start of November to move back up in to the play-off places.

Samba produced a number of smart stops in the game, including a superb penalty save to deny Josh Windass as the visitors pushed for an equaliser late on.

Following the game, Forest head coach Lamouchi has heaped praise on Samba for his recent performances but has insisted that the goalkeeper must remain focused, ahead of the clash with Blackburn Rovers on New Year's Day.

He told Nottinghamshire Live: “Yes, he has been good for us. He did a great job. He saved a lot of situations until now and rescued a lot of points, so I am happy with him. But he needs to stay focused until the end - and the end is May.

“We need him. We need everybody focused, consistent and solid. We have another game to play here on Wednesday. We just want to try to finish that game with the same result - three points in the pocket - but to play a different way.”

Can you get 18 out of 18 on this Nottingham Forest quiz? Have a go now!

The Verdict

Samba has been magnificent for Forest so far this season and deserves all the praise he is getting. He's pulled off some fantastic saves and has helped Forest pick up a number of points.

He's a very talented goalkeeper and has really impressed me with how quickly he's adapted to the Championship. He was superb again against Wigan and his penalty save should give his confidence a big boost.

Lamouchi is right that he needs to remain focused, though, as Forest have another tough game coming up and they need to continue their momentum.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.