Watch as ex-Sunderland and Newcastle United midfielder Jack Colback scores staggering Nottingham Forest goal

And Reds boss Steve Cooper said wing-back Colback had insisted in the dressing room that he had intended to shoot with the spectacular goal that made it 3-0 just before half-time at the City Ground.

The home side cruised into a dominant position after Darnell Furlong had collected a second yellow card in only the 17th minute, following up a foul on Philip Zinckernagel by handling a James Garner shot in the area.

Brennan Johnson converted the penalty and Ryan Yates added another with a 23rd-minute header, before Colback hit a spectacular volley from the tightest of angles, wide on the left. Sam Surridge completed the scoring in the third minute of added time, as Forest took a firmer grip on their position in the play-off places.

“To win a game 4-0, you have to do a lot of things well – and we did. We took real control. We forced them into a situation where they were down to 10 men, we forced the 1-0, the 2-0 and got the third,” said Cooper.

“Jack said that he tried it… brilliant. I will let him talk about that. But he was excellent, man of the match. Jack is not a character who generally craves any extra praise. He is a bit of a throwback on that front. I am not going to argue with him if he said he meant it.

“It is one of the best goals we have seen at the City Ground this season, even if we have seen a few good ones. I thought the fourth goal was good as well… I don’t know how many passes there were involved.

“It was a job well done. We just played really well. And the thing that mattered most… we felt really hard done by, after Friday (when Forest lost 1-0 at Luton) when a lot of the decisions and things did not go our way.

“That is what pleased me most – our attitude and approach to the game.”