No excuses, Forest. Now we know you can play

Phew! I am feeling really relieved that we weren't on the receiving end of a good thrashing against Swansea, as I was sure that was what was going to happen. To get a clean sheet is very pleasing against League One's best side, but nevertheless the three points would have come in very handy as it would have kept us in second place.

The first half was fast and furious with both sides enjoying long spells of possession. At first Swansea were all over us, and we struggled to get hold of the ball, and I thought we were in for a long night, but the defence, aided by the brilliant Paul Smith in goal, was on top form. Both Kelvin Wilson and Wes Morgan were rock solid. They are surely our best central defensive pairing we have at the moment, and now it appears that Ian Breckin has been dropped (hopefully for good, along with his captaincy), we are beginning to look more composed at the back again.

It wasn't just a good defensive performance, though. We even made the Swansea goalkeeper work for his money. He made four or five good saves, including one from Grant Holt, and another from Matt Thornhill, who made his full debut in place of Chris Cohen who was ill.

Thornhill looks quite a good prospect, but I don't think he's ready to be a fully-fledged first teamer just yet. He'll struggle to get in the team with the likes of Lewis McGugan, Sammy Clingan, and Cohen all vying for a place in central midfield.

I was surprised to see Neil Lennon was on the bench last night. The papers have been full of gossip about his not being happy at Forest and his dislike for Calderwood. There have been rumours flying around recently about several Championship clubs being interested in signing him, and at one point he was linked with the Hibernian manager's job, but nothing came of it. To be honest, I am not bothered. I think he is surplus to requirements, and if his heart is not at Forest, then what is the point?

Even though the result was good, I did feel dejected at the final whistle when I heard that Doncaster had gone into second. I forgot all about them and was concentrating on the Carlisle, Leeds, and Walsall results, which couldn't have been more perfect for us as Walsall drew with Leyton Orient, and Carlisle were beaten at Oldham, and Leeds, who have just appointed Gary McAllister as their new boss to replace Newcastle-bound Dennis Wise, slipped up at Southend.
We're only a point behind Donny, and we do have a game in hand on them, but they are a good side, and I can't help but think that the fixture at their place in March could be a really massive game.

Having given a good account of ourselves against Swansea, you would think that Forest will be full of confidence now, but it's as if they're a different team when they are away from home, and our next two matches are at Bournemouth, and Leeds. We absolutely have to beat Bournemouth on Saturday. There's no getting away from it. They are third from bottom in the relegation zone, so defeat there would be a disgrace, but Forest have a track record of losing these kind of games, and we were well beaten there last season when we visited them. They are scrapping for their lives, but if Forest can repeat the level of performance they put in against Swansea, they should be too strong for Bournemouth. If we can't beat the likes of them, then we don't deserve to get promoted.