'We are struggling' - Nuno Espirito Santo admits Nottingham Forest's fairytale is in danger of tailing off after Champions Legaue hopes were dented in Brentford defeat

Forest were in a strong position to secure a Champions League slot for next season until last month, but their sudden dip in form has now landed them in the sixth position on the league table. Espirito Santos' side have lost three out of their last four Premier League matches, including their latest 2-0 defeat at Brentford on Thursday. Earlier this week, they also crashed out of the FA Cup after losing 2-0 against Manchester City in the semi-final.

After the loss against the Bees, the Portuguese manager said: "We don’t see it but we feel it. The explanation for that we have to find in ourselves. But I don’t see (pressure), I see belief, desire and commitment. But the reality is we are struggling in some aspects of our game – focus and determination to be practical and solve the situations that are simple to solve. (To get back to ourselves) is the basic option we have. We don’t have to change, we have to go back and find our version.

"We have been clear and spoken many times about how we play. Our basic is being compact and solid, we don’t give away chances. We are a team that always covers, so our opponents have to do much more to achieve what they achieved today. With all respect to Brentford, it was too easy. We have been talking about how we are as a team and defensively we don’t allow too many situations. We have had a lot of clean sheets. This is the basic pillar we have, but today it was the other way around. We credit Brentford, but I believe with a better approach we could have solved the situations."

The Forest boss added: "I think we were in a position where there’s three teams above us that we need to finish above. So that’s a challenge. There are four games left, we have a chance of finishing eighth, which would be the best position in the club’s history in the Premier League.

"So that’ll be a fantastic achievement, but it depends the perfect run-in and it demands that we do what we’ve done so well over the last four years – laser-like focus on the next game. Some of them are playing the best football of their careers."

Forest will aim to get back to winning ways when they next face Crystal Palace on May 5 in a crucial Premier League encounter at Selhurst Park.