Stephen Warnock explains what Nottingham Forest must now do after sickening Everton defeat

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Nottingham Forest were cruelly beaten by Everton on Trentside as Abdoulaye Doucoure scored a winning goal in the fourth minute of injury time.

The Reds remain third but will relinquish that position on Wednesday night, should Newcastle win their game in hand against Crystal Palace.

Nuno Espirito Santo has a tough job on his hands to get more confidence back into the Forest team ahead of next Monday’s trip to Tottenham.

The Reds have hit a blip in recent weeks with Aston Villa beating Forest last weekend and then Everton ending a nine-match unbeaten stretch on home soil.

Now, is not the time to panic, however, and perhaps dropping down a place or two in the Premier League table wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

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Stephen Warnock shares what Nottingham Forest must do after Everton defeat

Forest are still firmly in the mix to secure Champions League football and nobody said it was going to be easy to get a place in the top five.

Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa are all in good form, with Arsenal and Liverpool seemingly already nailed on for the competition.

Warnock believes that not making the Champions League would be heartbreaking for Forest from here, but has advised what needs to happen in the changing room now.

He said on Final Score: “It would be heartbreaking for Forest to miss out on Champions League football at this point given all the work they have put into the season.

“They have to go back to the dressing room now and say, OK, bad day at the office. Let’s go again and re-group.”

Forest still have fighting Champions League chance

With Brentford, Leicester and Chelsea still to come at home, there will be plenty of chances for Forest to earn more points this season.

The away games will see Forest go to Tottenham, Crystal Palace and West Ham, with none of those three teams having a great deal left to play for this season.

Espirito Santo deserves to have some credit in the bank, with Forest being largely brilliant this season and their form not a fluke in the slightest.

As fans, there’s a responsibility to see this through until the end and whatever happens from here, it’s been a remarkable season and one that a great deal of pride should be taken from.