A brace on his first start, the first to achieve the feat since Forest substitute Jesse Lingard did likewise against Aston Villa in February 2021, will rightly see Ings take the plaudits. And yet, the 30-year-old was quick to share the praise around.
It was the sort of result that will hopefully shift momentum, especially after West Ham had controlled the majority of the first 70 minutes without making the breakthrough, before erupting in the final 20.
The importance of the triumph, the Irons’ second in three home fixtures in 2023, cannot be understated then.
“At half-time, we said that we wanted to keep doing the same things, we were controlling the game, dominating the game,” Ings added, “it was just about being more ruthless and in the second half we did that.
“But I stayed persistent and as a team, I think we deserved to win and to get a reward with goals is brilliant as well. We dominated the game from start to finish.
“For me, it is just the start on a personal note. As a striker to score your first goal, it gives you a really solid foundation to kick on and try and build some momentum.
“But doesn’t matter who is scoring the goals whether it is me, Mick, Dec, Gianluca [Scamacca] or whoever, we’ve got the three points and we are moving forward as a team.
“We know how tough the Premier League is, so for us, it is about building momentum. There is no better way to do that than winning 4-0 at home, in front of our own fans.”