The month of October was a good one for Nottingham Forest and offers a platform to build on for the remainder of the campaign.
For starters, the Reds won their first away game on the road this season at high-flying Middlesbrough, backing it up with decent away performances in a win at Bolton and by earning a point at Leeds United.
The only blemish in the way of not winning any league points came in defeat at home to Norwich City, but Forest have since responded well to that setback
If nothing else it represented a month in which Aitor Karanka’s men stood up to be counted in the Championship and although a couple of sticky situations surfaced, October has offered some hope that things are clicking into place.
Karanka signed several new players during the summer and it is fair to say that it has taken a little while for the club to develop a style of play suited to the new arrivals.
MORE FOREST STORIES
The vast majority of performances in October were decent and here at Seat Pitch we look at three players who should be contenders for the Player of the Month accolade at the City Ground.
Joe Lolley
The ex-Huddersfield man produced a highlight reel of stunning strikes all on his own during October.
Lolley boasts massive potential and his performances of late have made a mockery of the relatively low sum of money which Forest paid the Terriers for his services back in January.
Emphatic goals against Millwall, Middlesbrough and Bolton have certainly alerted Championship defenders to the potential damage that the 26-year-old can cause.
Lewis Grabban
The man signed for £6 million was written off by some Forest supporters after a slow star to life at the City Ground.
Those cynics now look incredibly foolish with Grabban starting to show exactly why the Reds opted to spend such an outlay on signing the talisman.
The 30-year-old netted five goals in all competitions during October and his goal in Saturday’s game against Sheffield United was his 10th in 11 games for the campaign.
Grabban works desperately hard for his team-mates and is looking worth every single penny of the fairly large transfer fee.
Joao Carvalho
The tricky Portuguese attacker is getting better with every single game he plays in the Championship.
The youngster kicked off October in the best possible style by netting his second goal for the club in a 2-2 draw with Millwall. His delightful free-kick had stopped Ben Amos all ends up and left Forest fans drooling at such an exquisite finish.
Carvalho added two assists later in the month and is now building up an exciting rapport with striker Lewis Grabban, who is thriving on such a level of service.
Head to @SeatPitch to vote for your Nottingham Forest Player of the Month for October