Now well into the first week of the International break, the time spent with those players not away playing for their Countries comes as a bonus for the likes of Steve Cotterill in assessing who he wants to keep and who he seeks to move on.
With the return to full time training of Dexter Blackstock, Paul Anderson and Garath McCleary and the reports circulating that the club are considering approaches in the January 2012 transfer window for quality players like Liam Lawrence, does raise optimism for everyone connected with Forest.
After the dark days of the first sixteen games of this season, the hope is that Steve Cotterill's wheeling and dealing in the loan and transfer market will pay dividends and the club then makes progress away from the bottom of the Championship.