Morgan Gibbs-White believes Nottingham Forest have taken "a massive step" towards Premier League survival, after their impressive turnaround against Burnley.
Forest came from behind to run out commanding 4-1 winners at the City Ground, with Gibbs-White taking centre stage by scoring a 15-minute hat-trick.
The skipper became only the third player to score a hat-trick for the Tricky Trees in the Premier League, after Kevin Campbell (August 1996) and Chris Wood (December 2023 and February 2025).
More importantly, it moved Forest five points clear of the relegation zone with five games remaining.
"Every game between now and the end of the season is going to be important for us, no matter if it's the Europa League or Premier League," Gibbs-White said.
"Every game is a final, and we have to treat it like that. It was clear to us that we have to give everything. We're going to do that from now until the end of the season.
"It's a massive step [towards Premier League survival]. We just have to sit back now and see what other people do.
"The manager's words [at half-time] were: 'come out fighting in the second half and give it absolutely everything', and the boys did that. We're delighted with the three points."
THREE BIG POINTS.pic.twitter.com/LoQCL3qWP9
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 19, 2026
Forest boss Vitor Pereira paid tribute to his skipper, who also scored the winner on Thursday as his side defeated Porto to progress to the Europa League semi-finals.
"He's a top player with character, even when the first half was not his best," Pereira said. "He showed what a captain must do in a difficult situation."
On the game, he added: "In the first half, it was a bit difficult to find those spaces to create situations to score. Then, in the last minutes, we conceded a goal.
"At half-time, we needed to change something, and we tried to change not only one player. But the different ways to find the spaces and to demand the spirit of the players to fight for our lives.
"In the end, they showed the character and quality to score four goals. I am very happy with them, and that’s why I gave them one more day to rest.
"As a team and with the supporters, we proved that we are together and believe until the end. Each point you get is a step forward. We need to go with the mentality to get points everywhere. It's not about another team, it's about us."
As for Burnley, they remain 12 points from safety after seeing their winless streak extend to seven league matches.
They have now lost more than 20 games in a league campaign (21) for the fourth time this century, also doing so in the Premier League in 2009-10 and 2023-24 (24 in both), and in the second tier in 2002-03 (21).
If 17th-place West Ham beat Crystal Palace on Monday, the Clarets' relegation will be confirmed if they fail to beat title-chasing Manchester City two days later.
"For an hour, we were very good, very disciplined," head coach Scott Parker said. "We got our noses in front, and it carried on into the second half.
"The game changes on their goal. In that moment, we give up two or three sloppy goals and lost our way. The inconsistencies have been paramount at times, and you can see that today.
"[After conceding the first] it's not about tactics, it's about digging through the next bit and trying to get a foothold again. We didn't do that. In fact, the opposite happened, and we concede four. It is poor.
"The team have got scars and I understand that because it has been a long season. What you've seen today has been a replica of other games. You can see at times that is weighing heavily, particularly when we conceded. Senior players need to step up.
"I am never going to criticise our general work ethic and desire. Where we have fallen short is quality. We will keep going. How we end this season will be key."