Karanka salutes Nottingham Forest's character as revival goes on

“We probably would have lost this type of game six weeks ago,” he said after the 2-1 home win over Birmingham City that cost Blues boss Steve Cotterill his job.

“The character of the side is different now. We are much more solid and we are scoring goals regularly.

“Now the key is to continue our momentum and keep that consistency going.”

Joe Lolley and Matty Cash scored for the second game in a row as Forest beat the big freeze to earn back-to-back league wins — their first home league win since early December — and go 15th.

Lolley’s low shot gave the home side a fifth minute lead and Cash struck early in the second period to put Forest in command.

The visitors had their chances, but when they finally did score through Michael Morrison’s 87th minute header Forest were able to hang on.

Karanka added: “It was important for us to win at home. It is another step for us.

“The attitude of the players was really good until the end of the game and we needed to make sure we got a positive result.”

Forest, who travel to Norwich City on Tuesday, thanked everyone behind getting the game on, despite the heavy snow and freezing temperatures - and the fans for turning out on a cold day.

“I want to thank everyone in the club, because I know how hard they have been working to get the game,” he said. “The effort they put in has been amazing.

“I also want to say thank you to our crowd. Because it would have been easy for them to stay at home on days like today.

“But they supported us in difficult conditions and helped us to get a good win. It was not the best performance or the best game, but we have another three points.”

Karanka, keen for the game to go ahead and build on the momentum of the 5-2 win at QPR the previous weekend, also sent a letter to every fan, thanking them for their support and asking for their continued backing next season.

Winger Lolley admitted: “We weren’t at our best. We showed glimpses of quality but we are still getting to know each other.

“It is a bit of a cliché but we are still new to each other and we are trying to find that consistency in the team.”