STEVE Wigley paid tribute to hat-trick hero Britt Assombalonga, after the striker helped Nottingham Forest snatch a remarkable win – and a place at the top of the Championship – on a night of drama at the City Ground.
Bottom of the table Fulham gave Stuart Pearce's side an almighty scare, as they fought back to take a 3-2 lead over the Reds. But Forest ultimately demonstrated their firepower to charge to a 5-3 win.
Assombalonga's first two goals had put Forest in a 2-0 lead, before the home side inexplicably crumbled, with Fulham looking as though they would claim three points.
But Michail Antonio made it 3-3, before club record signing Assombalonga completed his treble for and sub Jamie Paterson made it five.
Assombalonga has now scored eight goals in his first seven league games for the club and is starting to look good value, having already matched the tally scored by Simon Cox in the whole of last season.
The former Peterborough man is starting to look as though he can follow in the footsteps of the likes of Stan Collymore, Pierre van Hooijdonk and David Johnson, who all proved to be prolific scorers after signing for big money.
Assistant manager Wigley said: "He has got to match that, but we think he has got the quality to do it. We did pay a lot of money, but that is not Britt's fault. The fee is not important. We knew he would be value for money.
"We knew we were getting goals when we signed him. We knew we would get that from him. Players who score goals can be the difference between winning games like this and losing them."
"We are pleased with him all around. He compliments a good group of players. We found a way of winning, when we were not at our best, which is the sign of a good side."
The major blow for Forest was confirmation that skipper Chris Cohen has damaged his cruciate ligaments in his knee for a third time.
But Wigley said: "If there is one thing I am certain of, it is that Chris will bounce back. It is hard to put into words how bad we all feel for him, because he is such a good professional.
"But he has bounced back from this before and he will do so again."
