Striker Keinan Davis says he is reaping the rewards of playing regularly for Nottingham Forest and he has been boosted by the belief shown in him by boss Steve Cooper.
The 24-year-old had found a sustained run of games hard to come by at parent club Aston Villa. But he has become a key figure since joining the Reds on loan in January, due to spend the second half of the campaign at the City Ground..
He has been building up his fitness levels, recently completing his first 90 minutes for more than two years when he saw out the 1-1 draw at Sheffield United. But his performances have been at a high standard throughout - capped by Saturday’s stunning brace against Reading.
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“It’s really good to be playing regularly,” said Davis, who has been in the starting line-up for 11 of his 13 appearances in the Garibaldi. “In my career, I haven’t really had many starts.
"This is probably the most I’ve played in my whole career. For it to be at a big club like this is special, so I’ve just got to enjoy it. We’re sometimes playing two or three games a week, especially with us still being in the FA Cup, so that does help physically.
“The gaffer believing in me and playing me each game, helps with building up fitness naturally. I definitely feel the effects of that.”
Davis scored after less than 20 seconds against the Royals, coolly finishing off a cross from Djed Spence. And he added a brilliant second after the break as the hosts cruised to a 4-0 win.
Ryan Yates and Sam Surridge, who replaced Davis when he came off to a standing ovation, also got on the scoresheet as Forest cut the gap on the play-off spots to two points ahead of the midweek round of fixtures.
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“It’s up there with one of the best, to be fair. It was a great team win,” said Davis. "Of course I would love to have stayed on to try to get a hat-trick, but you’ve got to do what’s best for the team. And Sam came on and scored, so you’ve got to praise the manager for making that decision.”
