How long do you stay a hero for in football? If you achieve something that truly electrifies the fans, you’re heralded as the man who’d “never have to buy another pint in Nottingham”. Try telling that to Yohan Benalouane, though. Weeks after his derby day heroics, the masked goalscorer committed war crimes with his uninspiring display at Rotherham away. This, my friends, is the nature of the beast.

Staying on the theme of Derby Day goals, Ben Osborn scored the mother of all scene-inducing net-busters away at Pride Park in 2015. By the end of the year, he was the go-to scapegoat for a club in turmoil – and it stayed that way for the next few seasons. Heroism is fleeting in this game, whether you’re a player, a local lad, or even the manager.

Mauricio Pochettino has now learned that the hard way. Rumours about his future intensified on Monday. He was out of a job on Tuesday, and replaced by Jose Mourinho on Wednesday. The departing Argentine has had a whirlwind week that would make Craig David blush. He worked miracles at Spurs, but a few tumultuous months have put him on the scrapheap. Still, at least that Amazon documentary about Tottenham will now make The Wire look like Hollyoaks.

The most important 18 minutes of the century

It took Spurs 10 hours to switch from one manager to another. Amateurs… All the big clubs spend no more than 18 minutes orchestrating a regime change. When Forest traded in their worn-out O’Neill for a shiny, top-of-the-range Sabri in June, the turnover was rapid. At the time, Lamouchi didn’t get the respect he deserved – he was labelled everything from a “nobody” to a “bathroom appliance salesman who wondered into the City Ground and walked out with a job”. Social media users can be so cruel…

But then, Mr Lamouchi let his revolution do the talking. From minute one, there was something utterly loveable about the bloke. He rocked up at The Impact Arena for Forest’s friendly vs Alfreton, with his black-tee and hitman shades, to cast an eye over his new recruits the day after his appointment. Sabri was dressed to kill, and to be honest, we never did hear from that Town player who injured Joao Carvalho again.

As far as pre-seasons go, it was one of our best in recent memory: Not based on results, but on how Lamouchi conducted himself and stamped his authority on the club. He immediately cancelled friendlies, fearing an “overload” for a team asked to play 90-minute matches as early as June. He quickly identified targets and brought in his own players, despite the inflated size of Forest’s squad. There wasn’t one marquee name amongst them, and I’m pretty sure Lamouchi and co will eventually face a fraud trial after snapping-up Samba Sow for just £600 000. Dinamo Moscow are probably wondering where the remaining £49 400 000 is.

It wasn’t just bargain buys and a strong work ethic that characterised Lamouchi’s pre-season: He stood firm in the face of critics – and possibly a few people at the club – to add a fifth goalkeeper to our ranks. The Twitter experts had plenty to say on this one, with a few questioning the transfer which took our squad near to the 40-player mark. 

Sabri was undeterred. He wasn’t willing to settle for what he had. Perhaps starting the season with a 19-year-old loanee as his first choice shot-stopper wasn’t what the Frenchman had in mind for building the pillars of success. When he makes a decision, it usually proves to be a masterstroke. Getting Brice Samba and his velvet-voice over to Nottingham wasn’t just good management – it was an emphatic work of art.

What Sabri Lamouchi has got right

After those tricky first two games against West Brom and Leeds, the gaffer stuck to his guns. He kept faith in Worrall’s re-introduction to the team. He anchored Ben Watson in a midfield role that had earned him plenty of criticism towards the end of last season. His substitutions, almost every time, help shift us into an extra-gear to when we’re seeing games out. Even the decision to start Yates against Derby was a clever move, and the academy graduate produced the best display of his career in the 1-0 win. He also gave Rams centre-back Matt Clarke PTSD, after forcing him off with a crunching challenge.

It’s these things – little tweaks and adjustments, rather than sweeping changes – that sets Sabri apart from all our recent crop of managers. He’s the rocket scientist, carefully adjusting the cogs in our propulsion system. He’s the brain surgeon, weaving his way past the amygdala to stem the bleeding. He’s the bomb disposal expert, carefully cutting wires and saving the day – all while sweating less than a Pizza Express-loving, post-Falklands prince.

The noise from within the club remains encouraging, too. From what I’ve been told, Lamouchi commands a certain authority in the dressing room. He’s likeable, but he is the antithesis of a pushover. He is amicable, but not someone you’d dare cross. Certain lazy columnists would have been better off regulating their high blood pressure, rather than comparing Sabri to Philippe Montanier before a ball had been kicked this campaign. Mr Lamouchi doesn’t bring cheese to press conferences, but then again, Phil never brought tactical knowledge to a training session. I certainly know which one I prefer.

Lamouchi, however, now has to take on the dreaded December schedule: A month where, historically speaking, players drop like flies and our form goes to pot. Aitor Karanka was in a similar position this time 12 months ago. But after routinely dispatching Ipswich at home, his now-infamous interview – where he admitted to feeling flat – set the tone for a messy divorce.

A dreadful month widened the rift between the Spaniard and the ownership, and within six weeks of leading us into the top five, Karanka was gone. There were similar feelings of unrequited love for Aitor before he encountered a fatal bump in the road. 

I just called to say I love you

Lamouchi can certainly make himself a hero on Trentside. One would argue he’s already halfway there. But he has the chance to seize an opportunity and prove he’s able to succeed where others have not. With a squad of more than 30 players to choose from and reliable cover in every position apart from centre-forward, there is hope. December doesn’t have to be a vintage month, but it does need to steer clear of disaster. 

Sabri needs to be able to walk straight up to Evangelos Marinakis and ask him for a blank chequebook on 1 January. I’ve no doubt that, whatever the fearsome festive period brings, we have found the captain of our Greek-owned ship… 

Let’s cut to the chase though, Sabri: I just love you, mate. I really do. Forest fans always get it in the neck for being too hostile to their own players and management. But we’re also the most sentimental bunch going.

Bojan Jokic couldn’t have played much more than a dozen games for us, and he’s been heralded as one of our best left-backs of the decade (it has been slim-pickings, mind). The Church of David Vaughan ruled supreme across Nottinghamshire while the Welsh wizard was spraying 60-yard-diagonal passes on request. There were tears when Chris Cohen bagged against Ipswich in 2017. And don’t get me started on Jack Colback. These ginger midfielders have my heart – as well as the opposition – on strings.

It doesn’t take much for us to fall in love with you at Forest. Sabri has worked his socks off to unite the fanbase and get the reds playing with both substance and style. From day one, on a sun-kissed afternoon in Alfreton, his mind has been meticulously focused on improving this team. There were all sorts of divisions amongst the fans after Martin O’Neill left the club. Where on earth is that bad-will now? We’re all on the same page, and it has taken a remarkably short time to do this. If we gave Lamouchi a crack at Brexit, we’d probably all be a lot happier.

What is love?

I want to say thank you. I can forensically analyse what Sabri has got right all day long. But plenty of other people are already doing that. It’s our job primarily as fans, to show our gratitude and our continued support. The manager’s reaction to the Hull and Wigan losses proved what a brilliant knack for man-management he has. To quote Lamouchi, he stated, “it’s a long season, this isn’t the first time we’ve lost, and it won’t be the last”.

You can judge a team much more accurately based on how they react to adversity, rather than what they do when things are going smoothly. After consecutive losses, we’ve got back-to-back wins. Both were hard-fought victories, and they were forged in a passionate fire of grit and resilience. We’re a fanbase that craves a backbone from our team. Emerging victorious from three home games with 56th-minute winners in each is just the type of weirdly-accurate consistency we’ve been looking for. 

As supporters, we have to understand that the difficult days are always on the horizon. An away trip to Bristol City is hardly the first game anyone wants after an international break. There’s no need to tear apart exactly what has gone wrong when we come off second-best. Sometimes you have bad days at the office. Leave the ground, have a pint, and if you’re still upset, put your foot through a fence on the walk home. For Sabri, we need to be the best versions of ourselves.

When we ask “what is love?” – this is what we’re referring to. Love isn’t just celebrating the good times, but it’s sticking together during the tough moments. It’s about picking each other up when its most needed. Let’s give the Reds some breathing space for the next few weeks. 

After all, it is Christmas. The only reason we should have for bothering Sabri Lamouchi is to ask him where he gets his jumpers and coats from. Put one of those sexy garments under my tree and that’s it, I’ll never ask for anything again.

*Article provided by Tom Head (Nottingham Forest Correspondent).

*Main image @NFFC Sabri Lamouchi the Nottingham Forest Manager.