With only one win in the opening six games Nottingham Forest’s promotion hopes under former England wally Steve McClaren is already starting to look tenuous. Daniel Widdowson shares his concerns…

New Nottingham Forest Steve McClaren presented himself in an entirely new light recently. Choosing to put his brolly back into the cupboard Steve donned the Billy Davies attitude for his interviews with the BBC. Criticising the clubs handling of itself in the transfer window he spoke about the lack of signings and the lack of depth to the squad. In earlier interviews he spoke of “stellar signings”, and how the club needed experience to advance. Rewind a handful of months and we have the same phrases being uttered by the wee Glaswegian fellow, Billy Davies. How long is it before Steve helps himself to the “square peg, round holes” statement and the fact that the club is a young side.

It is obvious Steve hasn’t made the best impact on Forest fans with forums heavily critical of his appointment. He failed to help his corner during the summer transfer window, allowing players to leave the club, whilst signing five. Whilst it can be impossible to prevent a player from leaving the club the replacements he brought in are less than impressive, with the exceptions perhaps being Ishmael Miller and George Boateng. Andy Reid appears to have lost any flair he once had, Greening has lost the knowledge of where his feet are and Derbyshire is performing to a mediocre level compared to the standard Forest fans had become accustomed to under Billy Davies. Unable to capture a left back in the window Steve is forced to play Chris Cohen out of position for many of his games. Whilst Cohen can do this competently, he is far from perfect and we lose his quality in midfield.

Some fans are calling for heads to roll, and I understand why. However, it has to be stressed that whilst the club is struggling to achieve results, some performances have been decent. As ever at Nottingham Forest I firmly believe things will resolve themselves and the fans will constantly back the team on the pitch.

I have my own opinions about where the blame lies for the lack of signings and drive at the club. However, the football season is a long one and no one knows what twists will occur next in the championship. For Steve’s sake though, I hope it doesn’t rain.