Defender Max Lowe believes Nottingham Forest have “one of the strongest” teams in the league - but knows it is up to the players to prove that on the pitch.
The Reds are still very much in the mix for the top six as the Championship season edges towards what promises to be a gripping final run-in.
In an incredibly tight division, they are 10th, five points below sixth-placed Luton Town ahead of Saturday’s clash with Reading.
But less than 10 points separate all the teams from Blackburn Rovers, in fourth, all the way down to West Bromwich Albion, in 13th.
Lowe says the forthcoming international break can act as a yardstick, with a game against QPR and an FA Cup quarter-final with Liverpool also to come before then. He is not placing too much emphasis on how the table looks just yet, however.
“We were doing that around Christmas time, looking at international breaks and seeing what runs we can go on and how many points we can pick up,” the Sheffield United loanee told NottinghamshireLive.
“But I feel like we’re at that level now where we go into every game thinking we can win.
“I don’t think that’s an arrogance, it’s more just believing in how we play and how good we’ve been playing as a team.
“We’ve got great individuals, but I feel like as a team, we’re one of the strongest in the league. We need to start proving that now.
“We don’t look at the table too much. We definitely don’t as a team, but as an individual I’ll always check on how Sheffield United are doing because I know they are around us.
“We don’t look too much into it because it’s that tight. As soon as one team loses, they’re seen as being out of the picture, but then the next week they are back in it.
“I don’t think it’s been this tight for a long time, so you can’t really look too much into it until the last run-in of games.
“We’ve definitely got a good group in place now. I don’t see why we can’t be successful.
“The squad is there and we’ve got strength in every position. We’ve got the numbers now.
“I think people forget, it’s not just about the starting XI, it’s about the people who have to come in and play well. It just shows how good the squad is.”
