It was lift-off for Norwich City's Championship promotion bid at Nottingham Forest - but Alex Neil's next trick is getting his players' feet firmly back on the ground.

The Canaries moved up to second place, two points behind leaders Huddersfield Town, but it was the manner of their third consecutive league win that proved so impressive. Jonny Howson and Graham Dorrans capped a stirring second-half comeback after Apostolos Vellios had cashed in on Wes Hoolahan's penalty miss.

'The response was magnificent,' said Neil. 'All you can ask from a team is that they respond to negativity and that was the situation we faced at half-time. I have said we are going to have peaks and troughs and it is how we respond to the disappointments. We are now picking up some momentum, the lads have got a really good performance under their belt and they are pleased. It is a case of keeping their feet on the ground and we crack on to make sure we do the same next time.

'There are big teams in this league, it is not easy, you need to roll your sleeves up every game. If you don't fancy it one game then you are going to lose, it really is as simple as that. The players believe after a win like this that if you come up against adversity we are equipped to handle it and come out on top.'

Neil was purring at City's second-half display.

'They were the two best but bearing in mind this is against a team who has won all their previous home league games and they are a good side,' he said. 'Over the piece I thought we were great but that second 45 minutes after the break was a joy to watch. People can say with our squad we should be up there challenging but look at Newcastle, they have lost at home this weekend, Aston Villa have failed to win again. They are not finding it easy. I have a group of guys who are really determined and who have a lot of quality in that changing room and it is just about making sure they are ready and doing the right things.'