Confidence is low for Nottingham Forest but home clashes with Coventry City and Wycombe could provide the inspiration so desperately needed

Life under Chris Hughton has hardly been plain sailing for Nottingham Forest, but the Reds face a crucial two matches in four days when Coventry City and Wycombe Wanderers travel to the Midlands.

First up for Forest is a home clash with Coventry City on Wednesday evening, a game the Reds desperately need to win to kickstart their season.

Chris Hughton’s side find themselves 21st in the league ahead of their Championship double-header, balancing precariously above the relegation zone on just goal difference.

It is the finest of margins that separate the Reds from the drop zone – they have conceded two goals fewer than Derby County in 22nd, and that has been their story for much of this season.

Forest’s main note of concern is their inability to bounce back from conceding and it is having a clear impact on their confidence.

The Reds’ mental strength was already low after the catastrophic implosion endured last season, and most of that was down to their inability to deny their opponents from scoring late goals – this season, they are proving unable to respond after their opponent’s score first.

Of the 47 goals conceded in the Championship last term, Forest let in five goals beyond the 90-minute mark. A further six goals came in the final 15 minutes. This season, however, the table has turned.

Hughton’s side has fallen behind first eight times this season, at no instance, however, have the Reds grappled back to win – only three times have they managed to salvage a point.

It was a similar situation for Forest on Saturday. The Reds held on at the Riverside and seemed destined to squeeze a point from Middlesbrough, but a moment of lapse allowed Marvin Johnson to score his first Championship goal since September 2019 with nine minutes left on the clock.

Prior to their defeat at the weekend, Forest had been slowly building some momentum. The Reds had taken six points from their previous four matches before the trip to Teesside. The defeat has, however, knocked the confidence from the Reds according to defender Cyrus Christie.

“I think there’s definitely a bit of confidence lacking,” he told Nottinghamshire Live.

“I think you can probably see that from the outset. At times, where we could play a bit more and be a bit more patient on the ball, we’re not really doing it.

“Options aren’t there for us at the minute.

“We’re still getting used to the manager and he hasn’t really had time to work on that kind of stuck because the games are coming thick and fast.

“It’s not really ideal timing.

“But we as players have to take responsibility for our performances and what we’re doing out there.

“We’ve got to put on the performance to get the result. We have to do better as individuals.”

The defeat, Forest’s first in five games and first under the management of Hughton, leaves the Reds in a lowly position – one which Forest fans would hardly have predicted heading into the 2020-21 season.

Their next opportunity to end the slow run of points – along with a run of conceding first in 12 of their last 13 matches – is against Coventry City on Wednesday night. The Reds will be without striker Lewis Grabban, who also misses Saturday’s fixture against Wycombe Wanderers due to an injury, but will be boosted by the return of midfield spark Harry Arter.

The former Bournemouth man returns to the Forest squad having recovered from an ankle injury that saw him miss the last two fixtures. Chris Hughton continues to be without injured trio Joe Worrall, Tyler Blackett and Fouad Bachirou.

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