The 19-year-old has since retained his spot in Spurs’ midfield and rewarded that faith at Selhurst Park with a close-range header to score for the first time on his 112th professional appearance.
“It was a difficult game for me at Forest,” Gray reflected, after he helped Tottenham to only a second win in their last nine Premier League matches.
“The mistake was obviously my fault, but in that game, I just tried to get on the ball as much as I could, tried to be positive and forget about the mistake.
“Obviously, (this) still wasn’t the best game; it was a scrappy game, but to get a goal is something every child dreams of.
“We knew if we could keep a clean sheet, we would get the chances to try and get a goal. Our back four was amazing, and everyone, to be fair, with the mentality.
“I just found myself in the right place at the right time, and it was probably Richy’s (Richarlison’s) flick which did all the work. I was stood what two-yards out from goal?
“I didn’t really have much to do, but it’s an incredible feeling.”
Gray comes from a family with a rich football tradition and leaned on the advice of his father and ex-Forest forward Andy Gray in the aftermath of his error at the City Ground.
After Gray spent the majority of his debut campaign at Tottenham as a makeshift centre-back, the highly-rated youngster has relished his recent run in midfield and is eager to keep developing.
He told SpursPlay: “My Dad has always said to me, after you make a mistake, just go get on the ball and don’t be scared.
“That is something that stuck with me, and I will never go hiding for the ball or anything like that.
“It is not something I have ever done or will do. If I make a mistake, that is football sometimes, and I have just got to learn from that. I have, and I’ve been working on training every day to put it right.”