Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo says his side's recent stumbles in pursuit of a Champions League place are a reminder of the "reality" of the Premier League.
Forest have been one of the surprise packages of the season so far, lying third in the table but have faltered lately, losing three of their last four league games.
They conceded four goals in just 11 minutes against Newcastle on Sunday, with Forest facing another tough encounter when second-placed Arsenal visit the City Ground on Wednesday.
Nuno, however, tried to put Forest's recent run into context given they still have 12 league fixtures between now and the end of the season.
"This is the reality of the game, you have to realise it is part of our journey, ups and downs, not always possible to perform well," Nuno told a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
"Sometimes your opponent is better than you in periods. You have to realise and move forwards. It's about reacting now."
The 51-year-old Portuguese, previously in charge of Wolves and Tottenham added: "There is so much football to be played, so many things to happen. There is still a long way to go.
"This is reality. We have to recognise the Premier League is very tough, all the opponents are very hard, it is not always possible to perform better than your opponent.
"We chase the next game, this is what is on our minds, from minute one to get any points, no matter where you are in the Premier League."
Nuno, looking ahead to the Arsenal match, said: "Our ambition is to perform and try and be better than we were in the previous games. And give us a platform to help us achieve until the end of the season. This is what we want to get from the game.
"We want to finish the game and say we had a good game against Arsenal and we were stronger than them. That would be a positive for us."
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