Could Nottingham Forest’s slump drag them towards the bottom three?
Nottingham Forest have slipped to 17th in the Championship under new manager Aitor Karanka, who has won just one of his seven games in charge in all competitions.
Forest have not won in five games and are now just eight points clear of the bottom three with 14 games to go. Things have not quite gone to plan so far for the former Middlesbrough boss who took over in January.
His team have scored just twice in their last nine games and he has already overseen a huge turnover, which has seen 10 arrivals and 10 departures since his appointment.
His signings have not quite worked so far but it is difficult to bed in so many new players and Karanka has no time to experiment.
Forest’s next game against Reading on Tuesday will be a real indication of exactly where Forest are as the Royals are a place and four points behind the East Midlands club.
A victory for Reading would see them close the gap to Forest, while other teams in the chasing pack such as Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City could also drag themselves closer to Karanka’s men. A handful of the teams below them are in better form so they are in danger of being caught cold.
Forest were comfortably placed in 14th when they sacked Mark Warburton on New Years Eve and have actually got worse in terms of picking up points. They are now battling to make sure they stay in the Championship.
A couple of wins should see Forest pull clear and ease fears, however back-to-back defeats could put them deep in trouble, so they are by no means safe and need to start getting results quickly, with the Reading clash a massive encounter.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
