THE blue touch paper may not yet have been lit on Nottingham Forest's season, but Greg Halford is confident there will be some pretty spectacular fireworks when it does properly flame into life.
Having spent time at eight different clubs, the well-travelled defender has amassed more knowledge than the average 27-year-old player.
And, when he assesses the mixed start to Nottingham Forest's season, plain speaking Halford admits there is plenty of room for improvement.
But he is also firmly convinced that this rejuvenation will happen – and in the not too distant future.
Because, more specifically, he believes Forest have assembled a squad with more explosive power than any other in the Championship.
A tally of 11 goals from ten games so far might not suggest a side packed full of attacking talent.
But, with the likes of Dexter Blackstock, Simon Cox, Billy Sharp, Lewis McGugan, Andy Reid, Henri Lansbury and Jermaine Jenas in the squad, Halford is certain the Reds will soon be blowing away the opposition.
"We have brought in a lot of players, we have brought in almost a whole new team," he said. "But now we have the firepower to challenge anyone in the league.
"In fact, we have the firepower to test a lot of teams in the Premier League, on our day.
"It is just a matter of time until that comes. People just need time to get their confidence going.
"Take Billy, for example. He has had chances, but has not put one away.
"But when he does get a goal, he will be on top of the world. Then I know there will be more to come from him."
For Halford, it is not merely about missed chances however – but also creating them in the first instance.
And that is something else he hopes will fall into place given time, as an almost entirely new side comes together.
"It is just about how we build; how we create chances," he said.
"That final pass can be the hardest thing in football. As soon as we find the same wavelength, we know we will be a hard team to beat.
"We don't feel that is very far away at all. We are working hard in training, we are still learning about each other as a team.
"But it will happen sooner rather than later. When it does, we know we will be very hard to beat.
"As soon as we start putting chances away, we will be up there."
Forest's start to the campaign has hardly been a disaster, with O'Driscoll's side only having lost twice in the Championship.
And they go into the game against table-topping Cardiff on the back of two much improved displays.
Forest were unlucky not to beat Blackburn, who held on for a 0-0 draw at the City Ground, before the Reds then secured a 1-0 win at Peterborough that could easily have been more emphatic.
As a defender, the thing that pleased Halford most was consecutive clean sheets.
And he believes that defensive resolve will be key against the Championship's second top scorers.
"A clean sheet is always the start. You try to keep things tight at the back, then you build from there," he said. "Hopefully we can stop Cardiff, then we have to rely on other people to go and win us the game.
"Our first, main job as a back four, is to keep Cardiff out. They are the top scorers in the league and we know that might be tough.
"But we are at home and we are going into the game with confidence and momentum.
"The Blackburn one felt like it had been the first one in a while, to be honest. We were over the moon when we got it.
"I don't think we are scoring as much as we would like as a team.
"But, as a back four, keeping a clean sheet is our first job. We were delighted to keep a couple of them.
"We could have beaten Peterborough by four or five goals. But, in the final ten minutes, they piled the pressure on.
"To keep a clean sheet after the ten minutes of pressure we had was very pleasing.
"It was a win that we deserved, but it was also one that we needed.
"That was very important for us, to get moving in the right direction again.
"We went into the first international break on a high, but we seemed to come back from it on a low.
"Hopefully that will not happen to us again, because we lost a lot of ground in the league."
Having dominated against one of the big boys, in Blackburn, in their last outing at the City Ground, can they be confident of their chances against the side topping the table?
"Absolutely," said Halford. "We have to consider ourselves as one of the big boys as well. We cannot be afraid of anyone in this division.
"Blackburn surprised me in the way that they played. They came here with the idea of getting a draw.
"I cannot remember them having a genuine effort on goal. We bossed the game and we should have come out of it with three points.
"That is 100% a sign that other sides are respecting us. In the first few games, we passed the opposition off the pitch. Teams will recognise that we're going to have the majority of possession in a lot of games.
"As long as they are solid, they know we are going to have to make decisions; find a way to break them down.
"We are all gelling as a team, we are still getting to know each other and how we play.
"Hopefully we can pick up as many points as possible between now and Christmas because I have no doubt that, beyond Christmas, we will kick on, we will find our feet properly.
"And, when things fall into place for us, we will be a challenge for anyone."
Tomorrow, Forest will be hoping to snuff out Cardiff – and, by doing so, spark their own promotion push into life for the first time.
