Brice Samba sends five-word message to Nottingham Forest fans after victory over Barnsley

Nottingham Forest closed the gap on the play-off places to just one point with a very comfortable 3-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday evening.

Keinan Davis, Ryan Yates and Brennan Johnson were on target as the Reds wiped the floor with rock bottom Barnsley in the end, Xande Silva came close to putting the icing on the cake in the closing exchanges in a very dominant display.

Djed Spence registered his first assist of the season for the third goal, rampaging forward from inside his own half before cutting back for Johnson to calmly slot the ball into the bottom corner.

Brice Samba would have been pleased with the clean sheet and he took to Instagram to express his emotions after the game.

He wrote: “Another terrific night at home.”

A post shared by Brice-Lauriche Samba (@brice_samba1)

The attacking players have taken the majority of the plaudits in Forest’s resurgence under Steve Cooper, and justifiably so, but the likes of Scott McKenna and Brice Samba were reliable performers even in the difficult beginning to the season the club had.

Samba remembers the pain from when the Reds missed out on the top six on the final day of 2019/20, and the 27-year-old will be desperate to make amends this time around.

The Verdict

Forest’s home record, and the consistency of it, could be the difference between them breaking into the top six or just missing out.

It is clear to see that they are on an overwhelming upward trajectory under Steve Cooper but it is so tight between the chasing pack.

Middlesbrough have looked like an establish automatic promotion chasing since Chris Wilder took to the helm and with Sheffield United, Luton Town and Stoke City still in with a shout, Forest are going to have to stay on top of their game.

Samba has