Final five games 'biggest of our careers' - Nuno

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo says his team's final five Premier League games of the campaign are the "biggest of our careers".

Sixth-placed Forest have been this season's surprise package and can move back into the Champions League qualification spots if they avoid defeat against Brentford in their game in hand at the City Ground on Thursday.

The club has won the European Cup twice in their history but last played in the competition during the 1980-81 season.

Forest were knocked out of the FA Cup semi-finals by Manchester City on Sunday, but winning their final five league games will secure a return to Europe's premier club competition.

"All the games are going to be very, very important for a lot of teams in this fight. We have one more, let's try to perform well," Nuno said.

"We are back in the City Ground in front of our fans, it's a big help.

"We have never stopped believing, no matter what happens. Throughout the competition, we have had good moments and bad moments and we have been able to react and again it is up to us to react again.

"All the games are the biggest games of our career, this is how we approach it.

"We are only thinking about Brentford now, that is the only thing we have to consider now in our minds, is to compete against them.

"It's in our hands, that's a big advantage."

Full-back Neco Williams and captain Ryan Yates are both available to face the Bees after they were suspended at Wembley, while Nuno says he is continuing to monitor defender Ola Aina's fitness.

"There are a lot of players to assess, it was a very demanding game, a lot of players finished with cramp, so we will see," the Portuguese said.

On Aina, he added: "We still have one more day, assessing all the players, trying to make the decisions.

"All the players who have been out are important to us. We have spoken many times about that.

"We have been missing Ola, especially because of the stability of the back four we had and the routines.

"I don't know how many times we had the same players - that's crucial, especially in defence. We will assess him and see how fast he can return to the team."