Mark Warburton credited his half-time team talk for Nottingham Forest's 2-0 home win against Burton Albion on Saturday at the City Ground, according to the club's official website. 

Second half goals from Barrie McKay and Eric Lichaj secured the points over Nigel Clough's side who have now not scored in five straight league matches.

He said: “We spoke at half-time about upping the tempo in the second half. We started the game really positively and we knew that Burton would come here to sit behind the ball and slow the game down.

"In the first half we didn’t set the tempo and we didn’t move the ball anywhere near quickly enough. Burton are a very diligent and hard-working side who make life very tough for you so we knew it was an afternoon where we would have to be patient.

"All we needed to do at half-time was change the tempo and it was a much better second-half performance. Our job was not to worry about how Burton would play or what they would do, our job was to concentrate on our own performance which we did in the second half.

"The crowd could see that we were building momentum and I think they were pleased with the display after half-time. In the first half, we knew the crowd were getting restless but it was very difficult in the swirling wind against a very organised Burton Albion side.

“Overall, I’m delighted for the players because they got their rewards for working hard this afternoon.”

The Verdict

Burton don't give anyone an easy afternoon and came into the game off the back of three straight clean sheets.

Warburton will have been looking to his team to set the pace early on and work their defenders but it took until half time and a reminder of their responsibilities in order for that to happen.

It is also a sign of the progress that Warburton is making that the home faithful, while restless, were not completely on their team's back and ultimately their patience was rewarded with a hard fought win.

Forest fans - did you notice the difference in your side's play after half time? Let us know in the comments below...

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