REDS SHOW TOTAL COMMITMENT TO CLAIM AWAY WIN AND CLEAN SHEET

BEFORE a ball had been kicked in north London, Vitor Pereira asked his Nottingham Forest players how much they wanted to stay in the Premier League.

- By SARAH CLAPSON

He asked them how much they were willing to sacrifice in order to stay away from the trapdoor and secure another season of top flight football. How badly did they want it and how much did they care?

Ninety minutes later, he got his response. And it was delivered in thoroughly emphatic fashion.

The Reds' answer wasn't provided in the comprehensive 3-0 scoreline alone; it was also there in the way they dismantled a sorry Tottenham Hotspur team and ignited their own survival fight. The visitors were everything their opponents were not.

The response came in the way Forest fought, scrapped and gave every last drop for the cause.

It was there in the way Morgan Gibbs-White clenched his fists and roared when Igor Jesus broke the deadlock, and when Callum Hudson-Odoi waved his shirt in the air on the touchline as he watched Taiwo Awoniyi round off the scoring.

It was there, too, in the way the whole team came together as one to celebrate in front of the away end after the final whistle; Gibbs-White and Jesus being shoved forward by their teammates to take the acclaim.

This has been a big week for Forest and the connection between fans and club feels like it is back.

How much do the Reds want to stay in the Premier League? The way Sunday afternoon in the capital unfolded said it all.