This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Player view’ series, this content strand is where we put ourselves in the shoes of a given player, and offer an opinion-based outlook on the perspective on the situation at hand...

Sabri Lamouchi has enjoyed a superb start to life in charge of Nottingham Forest, with the Reds sitting in fourth position in the Championship ahead of today's game at home to Brentford.

Whilst there have been many reasons for his initial success, there's no doubt that he has built from the back.

Keeper Brice Samba has steadied things after Aru Muric's poor start and Joe Worrall and Michael Dawson have formed a solid partnership for much of the campaign.

The latter missed the last game at Blackburn through injury, yet Tobias Figueiredo stepped up in his absence and coped well. Prior to that, Chema came on for him at Stoke and also slotted in seamlessly.

Therefore, forgotten centre-back Yohan Benalouane knows he will have a real battle on his hands to get back in the team.

The Tunisian international revealed on Instagram that he is getting closer to featuring in the first-team after suffering a back injury that has disrupted his pre-season and ruled him out for the past few months.

Given his leadership qualities, no-nonsense style and experience, most managers would be delighted to have a player like Benalouane returning to the fold. He proved after joining Forest in January that he can be a very good player at this level.

However, it may present Lamouchi with an additional headache that he doesn't need - and the defender will be aware of that.

With Worrall, Dawson, Chema and Figueiredo all ahead of him in the pecking order right now, and with Alexander Milosevic another the boss could call on, it's fair to say competition is fierce in that department at the City Ground.

And, with the team playing so well, Benalouane simply has no chance of forcing his way into the XI as things stand.

Of course, things can change very quickly in football and a loss of form or an injury could give the ex-Leicester City man a chance and he will need to take any opportunity that comes his way if he wants a Forest future.

That will require patience on the part of the centre-back though and whether he is prepared to do that at 32-years-old remains to be seen.

If he's not, Benalouane will have realised after watching his teammates impressive start to the campaign that if he wants to get regular football then he may have to push for a move in January even if he has enjoyed his time in the east Midlands.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

 

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