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Manager Russell Slade says Cardiff City can ill afford to lose further ground in the race for the Championship play-offs.

Cardiff are four points off the top six after losing 2-1 at MK Dons on Boxing Day.

Slade's side host Nottingham Forest on Tuesday and the manager wants to end 2015 on a high.

"We don't want to be slipping away now," Slade said.

"It's another important game for us and we've put a lot of importance on these games before the end of the year.

"There's still three more points [to be won] before we turn into January and three very important points for us now.

"Going into the New Year it's important to be right in there."

Eighth-placed Cardiff missed the chance against MK Dons to close the gap on the play-off places.

Slade bemoaned a lack of cutting edge in a goalless first half as his side were beaten by Josh Murphy's injury-time winner.

"We created chances but there's something not quite there at the minute that we need to change and which we're capable of changing," Slade said.

"We feel we have that firepower and that quality to change that.

"But while we're not finishing as well as we ought to we can't be conceding two goals either.

"We've got to get that balance between being attacking and at the same time staying in control of the game."