Billy Davies has been calling for weeks for his side to be more clinical in front of goal but even he will have been surprised at the ease with which the Reds cut through their opponents, a Premier League side in name only after manager Sam Allardyce chose to field a host of young players and adopt a formation which allowed the hosts the freedom of the City Ground throughout the 90 minutes.
The only surprise at half-time was that Forest led by only a single goal, Djamel Abdoun's cheeky penalty chip but the only sustained spell of West Ham pressure, around the hour mark spurred the home side into action as Jamie Paterson scored a hat-trick within 14 minutes and Andy Reid finished the rout after Abdoun's unselfish pass.
It could have been more (substitute Simon Cox will be disappointed not to have scored) and in truth the Reds will face far harder challenges in the Championship over the rest of the season to come but as a confidence booster this was hard to beat.
The Reds will be at home again, against either Preston North End or Ipswich Town in the next round.