James Garner sends two-word message to Nottingham Forest supporters after 3-1 win over QPR

Nottingham Forest produced another excellent display under Steve Cooper to beat play-off rivals Queens Park Rangers 3-1 on Wednesday evening.

Ilias Chair slipped Andre Gray in beautifully to fire in the opener in the closing exchanges in the first half, with the Moroccan replacing Chris Willock due to a hamstring knock.

Djed Spence’s screamer got the ball rolling for the Reds’ comeback, almost taking the net off with a thunderous strike from range before Ryan Yates’ deflected strike turned the game on its head late on.

Brennan Johnson sealed the three points in the 87th minute with David Marshall being replaced by Lee Wallace in goal moments later.

James Garner, who is enjoying a season-long loan with the Reds from Manchester United, capped another impressive performance pulling the strings from central areas.

The 21-year-old took to Instagram to express his emotions after the game.

He wrote: “This team.”

Garner has definitely flown under the radar a touch while Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson have been stealing the headlines this season, but the cultured central midfielder’s role in building attacks and finding the widemen has been equally important in Forest’s rapid rise under Steve Cooper.

The England U21 international will have a huge role to play in ensuring the Reds finish in the top six.

The Verdict

We have seen that not many can live with Forest when they are on-song, Leicester City and Arsenal learned that lesson the hard way in the FA Cup.

It was the same for Rangers who were by far the weaker team the longer it went on, Steve Cooper will be quietly confident that Forest can compete with Liverpool when they arrive at the City Ground on Sunday.

Ryan Yates’ old fashioned grit also played a key role, the