Famous night for Nottingham Forest in a season to otherwise forget

While the Europa League will continue a difficult season for Forest, the additional matches also present challenges.

Forest will face Porto in the quarter-finals on 9 and 16 April, welcoming Aston Villa at the City Ground between the two legs and then hosting Burnley the following weekend.

Winning games means positive momentum, which can only help when it comes to fighting to stay in the league.

But it also means more games and as he prepares to take part in his first European quarter-final, Pereira must find the balance between keeping his side at the top and managing the demands of competing in Europe.

“It’s different when we win,” Pereira said.

“The spirit is different, the energy is different and the boys deserve it because they are a great group, very good players, they have team spirit and character, we showed everything today.

“I have no doubt that we are qualified and will compete to achieve our goals.”

Yates added: “That feeling of winning is so special, you want to keep that momentum going.

“The momentum is huge at this stage of the season. We’re not going to get ahead. Get back together now, focus on Tottenham and keep improving, keep getting wins.

“It’s not over yet, we’re still dreaming.”