Twelve months ago, Nottingham Forest were flying high, sitting third in the Premier League and pushing for a Champions League place. Now, their focus has shifted sharply towards steering clear of relegation.
Saturday’s 3-1 defeat away to Aston Villa capped a bruising two-week spell that has also seen losses to Fulham, Manchester City and Everton.
The run has dragged Forest to within four points of the drop zone, a far cry from last season’s seventh-place finish.
Head coach Sean Dyche is eager to stress that recent results have distorted the wider picture.
Since taking over in October, he won seven of his first 12 matches and believes his side still have more than enough quality to survive.
With a trip to fellow strugglers West Ham looming on Tuesday, Dyche is urging calm and perspective rather than panic.
At the start of 2025, Forest thrashed Wolves 3-0 to cement their place in the league’s top three.
That victory marked a sixth straight win - a feat the club had not achieved in a single top-flight season since 1966-67 - and left them five points clear of fifth-placed Newcastle.
Fast forward to now, and Forest have suffered four consecutive defeats for the first time since late 2023, a slump that previously led to Steve Cooper’s dismissal.
Dyche is already the club’s third manager this season, having been brought in after Ange Postecoglou’s short and damaging spell.
While Dyche’s early impact was encouraging, recent performances have been undermined by a sharp drop in concentration and organisation.
Against Aston Villa, those flaws were brutally exposed.
A momentary lapse allowed Ollie Watkins to open the scoring, while goalkeeper John Victor’s ill-judged charge from his line gifted John McGinn a decisive third goal.
“You can’t make basic mistakes like that in the Premier League,” Dyche told Match of the Day.
“The mentality is there, but you can’t keep giving yourself a mountain to climb.”
Forest’s plan had been largely effective until first-half stoppage time, limiting Villa to few clear chances.
But once Watkins struck, the structure unravelled.
McGinn’s second-half goal made it 2-0 before Morgan Gibbs-White briefly reignited hope with a fine finish.
A comeback, though, never truly looked on the cards.
“We stuck to the gameplan in the first half,” Gibbs-White said.
“There were positives, and we showed work ethic and desire. Conceding just before half-time was really unfortunate.”
Tuesday’s trip to the London Stadium could prove pivotal.
West Ham have won only three league games all season, with their sole away victory coming at the City Ground - the match that ended Nuno Espirito Santo’s spell in charge of Forest.
Nuno’s turbulent departure and subsequent appointment at West Ham adds extra intrigue to a fixture that already carries significant weight for both clubs.
Despite the pressure, Dyche remains measured.
He points out that Forest’s league position is still healthier than when he arrived, with improved goal output and a higher points tally.
“I was never expecting this to be easy,” he said.
“It’s a work in progress. When you put a poor run together, it changes the narrative. I have to focus on the reality, not the noise.”
For Forest, the coming days may bring clarity.
Whether their season tips further towards danger or stabilises could hinge on what happens in east London.
