Nottingham Forest and Sabri Lamouchi made a real statement on Saturday by handing Swansea City their first defeat of the season.

Despite playing away against the top-of-the-table Swans, the Reds looked up for it from the off at the Liberty Stadium and, in truth, created the better chances – having more shots and shots on target.

Forest’s 1-0 win sees them climb to 10th and begin to establish themselves as play-off contenders.

Lamouchi’s men have played six of the top eight already this season and earned points from all but one of those games.

It is easy to forget that the French boss arrived after pre-season had begun, and I think with a kinder fixture list over the next month or so we are going to see his side continue to settle and climb further up the Championship table.

Key to that will be striker Lewis Grabban, who top-scored for the Reds last season and already has four goals to his name in the 2019/20 campaign.

Grabban proved with his surging run to set up the winner on Saturday that he is more than just a goalscorer and is an integral cog in this Forest side.

Outside the 31-year-old, Lamouchi does not exactly have a wealth of options up front, with only on-loan Wolves forward Rafa Mir and forgotten man Zach Clough to choose from.

However, in Tyler Walker, the Reds do have a player contracted to them that is in hot goalscoring form.

The 22-year-old was sent to League One side Lincoln City in the summer and has hit the ground running, scoring twice and providing four assists in seven league appearances for the Imps.

He was similarly impressive on loan at Mansfield Town last season, finding the net 26 times for the Stags in League Two.

Lamouchi has revealed that the Reds do have the opportunity to recall Walker in January and that is something that they should definitely consider if they’re competing for the play-off places.

I don’t have a huge amount of confidence in either Mir or Clough, who have scored eight goals between them since the start of last season, and should Grabban pick up an injury I would have serious concerns about either of them taking his place.

If his form continues, bringing back Walker to ensure they have sufficient back up for Grabban looks a smart idea and could be vital to the success of their season.

It may seem counterproductive to cut Walker’s loan short when he is performing but if it can help Forest make the play-offs and potentially secure promotion then it is surely worth it.