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It is a thought that Martin O’Neill was probably exposed to more than once, during his time playing under Brian Clough.

If a football manager can get the spine of his side right, everything else tends to fall into place.

During his playing days at Nottingham Forest, John Robertson – and indeed O’Neill himself – successfully offered a reminder of how achieving success was about a little bit more than that, from their position wide on the flanks.

But there is no mistaking the fact that, with their work done over the last 24 hours, the Reds have emerged the other side of the transfer window with a strengthened spine to their side.

(Image: Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

Two strong, powerful central defenders, a high energy central midfielder and a strong running forward have all joined the ranks, as Forest worked hard to bolster O’Neill’s squad.

“I would not disagree with him on that,” said O’Neill, when asked about Clough’s thoughts. “Right down the middle is always very important for a team and I think, if you look at the sides that are successful, you will see that.

“I just think that, again, getting back to the point, the January transfer window can be a difficult time. You would like to get everything right.

“We have been trying to get players in, over the last few days, as a necessity, as much as anything else.

“I am delighted to try and improve our squad. Firstly numerically – this is not always your main reason for doing things but, in our case, we have a number of problems at centre-back, where we have a few players injured, along with the departure of Danny Fox.

“We had to do something to shore that up. I am delighted to have done that.”

It was specifically in the heart of defence where Forest needed to strengthen, due to an injury list that is not likely to get any shorter in the near future.

Michael Dawson has some way to go in his recovery from a hamstring problem, Michael Hefele could miss the rest of the season after Achilles surgery and Tobias Figueiredo is only now starting to recover from an injury that O’Neill himself is all too familiar with.

While Fox’s move to Wigan only exacerbated the situation.

(Image: NFFC)

Forest’s response to the situation was to sign Molla Wague on loan from Udinese for the rest of the season and to agree an 18-month contract with Swedish international Alexander Milosevic, with the paperwork being completed to sign him as O’Neill conducted his press conference.

“I think he is a very decent centre-half,” said O’Neill of the former AIK player, who became the club’s fourth signing in the space of 24 hours.

“As the name suggests, he has a Serbian father but he was born in Sweden. He has been a good player through his early-20s and he is trying to get back into the Sweden national side.

“He was out of contract and I thought ‘okay, let’s go’. I am hoping that he does well, he is certainly keen.”

One of Wague or Milosevic could be pitched straight into the action at Birmingham tomorrow, as Forest’s injury problems continue to bite, with Figueiredo’s being a source of particular frustration for manager and player alike.

“It seemed innocuous at the time, because I watched it back on television and it just looked like a bit of a dead leg,” said O’Neill. “But it has been really, really bad.

“He had a big blood clot. Funnily enough, I had my own experience of that, about three weeks before the European Cup final.

“I got exactly the same injury at Manchester City. It was really only a physiotherapist up in Mapperley, who did brilliantly for me, otherwise I would not even have made the bench.

“I think Tobias has a similar problem, but much worse. The injury is starting to respond to treatment now but it has been a fairly lengthy amount of time.”

‘High energy’ midfielder Pele will add a box-to-box presence to the Forest ranks, following his loan move from Monaco and Leo Bonatini, a ‘hard running’, mobile striker arrives from Wolves to add something different to their attacking arsenal.

But it was the defensive strengthening that O’Neill felt was most vital.

“It was really, really important. That was our main quest, honestly,” he said. “Despite his great determination, I cannot see Dawson coming back for five, six or seven weeks, by which time we will have played a lot of games.

“Jack Robinson has moved across and has done really fine there. But you want to get somebody in there, who has that as their normal position.

“It might take a little while for these players to adjust. But needs must. They might well be thrown in at the deep end – or some of them might, anyway.

“There are a few players on loan, until the end of the season, and it is a chance for them as well. If they can impress, you never know what might develop.

“All of those things have to be taken into consideration. But you try to get players to settle in immediately and sometimes that can be more difficult than you might think.

“I think in the summer you can have a look, you can take a little bit longer; take your time. But in January we needed to get players in and it was a brilliant collective effort to achieve that.”

The key question, now the window has shut, is over whether Forest now possess a squad capable of challenging for the top six, in the remaining games – which continue with a trip to Birmingham tomorrow.

“That is what we want to do – challenge for the play-offs. And I am pleased to get some players in. I want to have a real go at it,” said O’Neill. “We have some ground to make up.

(Image: PA)

“And we do not have 30 games left, we are running games down and are well into the second half of the season. Defeats are major setbacks and victories are terrific.

“I think all the games are huge. I do believe that. We do not have a lot of leeway. We need a certain number of points to give ourselves a chance.

“If you lose a game, it can be a setback. It would not be the end of the world, but it would be a setback.

“The lift you get from a win is terrific. So, two weeks in, we go to Birmingham in good spirits. That does not guarantee anything. But it is nice to win football matches.”

When it comes to achieving that basic goal, Forest have finished the transfer window better equipped now, than they were when it started.