Elliot Anderson says Nottingham Forest are "full of fighters" after they boosted their Premier League survival hopes by snatching a late point against Newcastle United.

The England midfielder scored an 88th-minute equaliser against his former club – cancelling out Harvey Barnes' opener 14 minutes earlier – to move Vitor Pereira's side seven points clear of the relegation zone with two games remaining.

Anderson's goal proved to be vital, as, combined with West Ham's subsequent defeat to Arsenal, Forest's top-flight status was secured.

Forest are now unbeaten in their last eight league games (W4 D4), last enjoying a longer run without defeat in the competition between February and November 1995 (25 matches).

"We knew going into these last few games, it's important to pick up points and finish on a high," Anderson said. 

"It's a good point considering I don't think we were at our best today. But when you're not at your best, it's about not losing points, and we've picked one good one up.

"One thing the manager said is that this group is full of fighters. It's not been easy, but we've all stuck together and fought for each other."

Anderson was playing just two days after the funeral of his mother Helen, who passed away last month, and head coach Pereira paid tribute to the midfielder.

"He travelled to Newcastle, came back, and I can not imagine the character of him," the Forest boss said. "He is a player that gave everything today on the pitch. He ran until the last bit to help the team, and I do not have words to thank him.

"We have a lot of quality, but it's not only about quality – it's about human qualities, personality, character and team spirit. It's about suffering and sacrifice and trying everything to help each other. I am very happy with them.

"The character of these players, a special group. They believe – even after we conceded the goal – that we can score. We did and maybe had a chance to score a second. This is the spirit I want in my team."

Meanwhile, Newcastle's fading hopes of securing European qualification are all but over, after they surrendered yet another lead.

The Magpies have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League this season (27) – only in 2004-05 have they let more slip in the competition (31).  

And Barnes, who gave Newcastle the lead at the City Ground, conceded it represented "the story of the season".

"A little bit disappointing," he said. "It was a little bit of a back-and-forth game, and then we've got the goal to go ahead. Then, we looked comfortable for a bit, looked like we might get another one, and created a few chances.

"It has been the story of the season, late in games sinking in, conceding pressure and ultimately conceding goals, and that has cost us today.

"When we go ahead in games, it's something that we've not dealt with well enough. We start to look nervy and lose the confidence to go and get another goal and, ultimately, just try to defend the lead, which we haven't done well enough.

"It's hard to put your finger on exactly why, maybe a bit of fatigue towards the end of games. Then, when it happens once or twice, confidence drops.

"Dropping back is not an instruction, it is just something that seems to creep into our game, and it is something we've got to stop doing."

Eddie Howe's side have also failed to win 14 Premier League away games this season (D5 L9), with Newcastle last failing to win more matches in the competition on the road in 2018-19 (15).

"It's a decent performance, but when you group everything that's happened to us this season, it's another game that we feel we should've won, and we haven't," the head coach added.

"Already, we're starting to digest why we didn't – lessons to learn, things to improve. We dominated for long periods and should've scored more than one, and then paid the price at the end.

"The team improved as the game went on. The first half was a bit of a non-event, and we changed things around at half-time – moved some things around and were much better in the second half.

"Of course, we had chances to get a second goal, and we should have done, and then we just didn't defend the goal well enough at all."