Oliver Glasner has revealed Nottingham Forest were dealt a late double injury blow after Nikola Milenković and Jair Cunha were ruled out of their win over Aston Villa.
Both centre-backs had trained ahead of the game but complained of hamstring tightness, with scan results confirming at around the night before the match that neither would be able to feature.
"Yesterday we had the circumstances when we got the results of the scans at 9.30 in the evening and all of a sudden both centre-backs couldn't play," Glasner said.
"I knocked at Ola's and Ousmane's door and told them they will start in a back three.
"We had a lot of challenges to overcome, which is why I'm very proud of the performance and of the win."
Glasner was forced to reshuffle his defence at short notice, handing Ousmane Diomande an opportunity to come into the side.
"We trained yesterday, but it is how it is," he added. "We can't change it anymore and we trust in the other players.
"This is why we need the entire squad and it gives a chance to Ousmane. We are flexible and this is why we don't have doubts."
Liam Delap scored his first goal for the club in the victory before Igor Jesus struck a late winner after the home side had equaliser.
