Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman has backed Middlesbrough to win the Championship, even though his side beat the Teesside outfit this afternoon.

Freedman's Forest came from a goal down to beat Boro 2-1 at the City Ground, denying Boro the chance to go top of the table and keeping their own playoff hopes alive in the process.

"I am delighted with the super-human effort the players showed today and I am delighted with the response they produced to going behind, to suffering a set-back against the best team in the league, the strongest squad in the league and the one that will probably go on to win the title," Freedman said after the game.

"I am so delighted for the players and what they have achieved. The game was about concentration. If you wanted to see the perfect definition of a team fighting for their lives, that is what we were doing in the final stages.

"We are in the business of winning games and we feel as though we are getting a winning mentality around the place."

Three points for Forest see them close to within nine of the playoffs, while Boro are one of four sides on 66 points at the top.