RADI Majewski can be an important player for Nottingham Forest this season, says manager Sean O'Driscoll.
The Reds boss is hoping the former Polish international will not be sidelined for too long after damaging ankle ligaments in the painful defeat at the hands of Millwall.
O'Driscoll says Majewski had become a key figure in the Forest side.
, as they figure out how to make the most of his talents.
"Radi has been giving us a little link between the midfield and the front two. He had been key to some of our good performances," he said.
of Majewski, who has played in a number of roles this season, normally either in the midfield three amid Forest's favoured 4-1-3-2 formation or just off the striker
"He has his leg in a protective boot, so he is not going to play against Middlesbrough. I imagine it will be a few weeks, rather than a few days, before he is back.
"He can play off a striker, he can fill that role. He finds space well , between the lines, that is one of his strengths.and he can link up well with a forward man, he can pick out passes."
Like his managerial predecessors, Billy Davies and Steve Cotterill, O'Driscoll recognises that Majewski is capable of splitting Championship defences with his vision and passing.
And he hopes they are starting to find ways of getting Majewski into positions where he can be most effective.
"The other side of his game is also improving;@ his reaction when he has lost the ball is far, far better than it was," he said. "We don't want him to be a one-trick pony. We don't just want to use him in a midfield position as previous managers might have done.
"He has the ability to be a very important player for us, we just have to find a way to utilise that.
"He is a likeable lad. He is one of the players that everyone likes."
O'Driscoll believes Majewski, in particular, will benefit from the club's capability to film the players in training.
"It is good that we have the facility to film training now because you can actually show players what you are talking about," he said.
"You can tell them how you want them to do something and, when they do something well, you can show them a clip of it and tell them 'that is what I am talking about'.
"It is about giving them a positive message when it comes to what you want them to do."
O'Driscoll felt having to replace Majewski after 15 minutes was a negative influence in the game.
But he refused to make excuses about the defeat, saying: "We missed him. But we cannot complain about the strength of the squad because we replaced him with an international player.
"We have been on a really good run, but the wheels came off. We need to get back to what we were doing previously and start again.
"I have been honest with the players, I told them we just need to do the things that have been getting us results. Sometimes you have to earn the right to play, we did not do that and then the game became a battle."
Forest also have doubts over Jermaine Jenas going into tomorrow's game against Middlesbrough.
"He got a knock against Barnsley and he hadn't trained all week," said O'Driscoll. "We will have to see how he is."
