NOTTINGHAM Forest must keep the faith when it comes to their promotion chances, said Lewis McGugan today.
Sean O'Driscoll's side may sit on the fringes of the top six as they prepare to face Brighton tomorrow.
But the midfielder is convinced they are well placed to mount a challenge in the new year – and says the key is to keep believing.
"With the squad we've got, we have to be aiming as high as possible," he said.
"I look at the teams around us and I look at the quality we have and I think to myself 'why not?'
"It is not a case of win promotion or bust, that would be ridiculous. But we are going to be trying to get ourselves in and around there come the end of the season.
"We believe that is something we are capable of. You have to use the squad to achieve things in this division and we believe we have a good enough squad to compete at the top end.
"This season can still hold what we want it to. You know what this division is like. You lose a few games and you can drop a long way down the table – win a few and you are right back up there.
"There is still a long way to go and if we can put a few results together between now and the end of January, we can see where we are then and reassess things."
Forest made a flying start to the campaign, but have suffered a few spells of inconsistency since.
When they have been at their best, however, McGugan believes Forest have proved they are a match for anyone.
"The start to the season we had was excellent. We have to stick together, we are getting over a sticky period but we have something to build on now," he said.
"We have confidence in the changing room, we know each individual in there has something they can bring to the team. We know we can beat anyone in this league if we play to the best of our abilities."
McGugan has found it hard to force his way into the starting line-up on a regular basis – but is willing to remain patient.
"We are a tight-knit group, we win together and we lose together. There are a lot of people who are not in the team who want to be," he said.
"But we are in this together, we are a close squad and we accept it when we are not involved.
"It is a squad game and, in a few months time, there might be a few players who have not been involved who come into the side and play an important role for us."
