Dave Bassett, the Nottingham Forest manager, is still waiting for the mathematicians to confirm that promotion is a certainty but Nottingham was a city in celebration last night. It will need the most alarming set of results to prevent Forest regaining their Premiership place after one season in the First Division.

Forest supporters were in jubilant mood but Bassett warned: "I know I'm in danger of sounding boring but we are not there yet. I have had too many kicks in the backside in my career - lost a play-off final with a last-minute goal, been relegated with a goal in the last minute at Chelsea - to take anything for granted. And I'm not going to start now.

"We knew it was going to be difficult against Reading because they sat back and hoped to catch us on the break. That led to a very tight and tense affair and in all honesty I was beginning to think we would not get the goal we needed."

Bassett did note that the result may have settled a score. "It may have made up for an injustice, for Dave Beasant being sent off and them being given a penalty at Reading earlier in the season."

Forest spent much of the match like a nervous batsman, struggling to get a thick edge down to third man and complete a deserved hundred.

Reading threatened to ruin the party by clinging to their own status. But the 88th-minute goal by Chris Bart-Williams sent Reading down and effectively gave Bassett his seventh promotion in a remarkable career.

Bart-Williams, thrust into an emergency striking role when Kevin Campbell was injured in the first half, fastened on to a Colin Cooper free-kick that for once eluded the Reading defence and sent a left-foot shot scuttling into the far corner of the net.

Forest's best chance had fallen to their substitute Ian Woan, whose shot from Andy Johnson's cross looked certain to bring reward until the goalkeeper Scott Howie scooped it past the post.

Reading's bitterly disappointed manager Tommy Burns said afterwards: "I'm very disappointed for the players because they put everything into the game but in the end everything was stacked against them."

Nottm Forest: Beasant, Bonalair, Rogers, Cooper, Chettle (Hjelde 45), Johnson, Stone, Gemmill, Van Hooijdonk, Campbell (Woan 45), Bart-Williams. Subs Not Used: Pascolo. Booked: Rogers. Goals: Bart-Williams 87.

Reading: Howie, Bernal, Gray, Parkinson, Primus, O`Neill, Lovell, Caskey, McIntyre (Fleck 31), Crawford, Lambert, Fleck (Brayson 74). Subs Not Used: Swales. Booked: Primus, Lovell.