The Reds have a very strong chance of securing a place in next season’s Champions League as they sit third in the Premier League table, four points above fourth place Chelsea and five points above Manchester City, who are in fifth place. Despite this, Yates revealed that his team are taking each game as they come and cannot think of qualifying just yet.
“We're just not thinking about it. We haven't got time to think about it.
“Maybe this week we can, but we’ve just been recovering and motivating ourselves. We don't want to deviate away from that.
“We're really positive how we reacted (against Villa). We want to take that into next week.”
Forest now have a full week to prepare to face an Everton side who snatched a point against second place Arsenal last week. Yates opened up about bouncing back after their 2-1 loss to Aston Villa and how rest is crucial ahead of the clash against the Toffees.
“We didn't get going. We've got off to a slow start,” added Yates. “To be honest with you, if you do that anywhere in the Premier League, especially at places like Villa Park, you're going to get punished. And we did. Then it's an uphill battle.
“We regrouped at half-time and just said ‘We’ve just got to give everything. We’ve got to give more’.”
“We need to just reset, and look at what we can improve. We're fully motivated, ready for a really tough test.”