Tough January Ahead For Cotterill

Nottingham Forest will KO the New Year sitting 3rd from bottom in the Championship table, with a trip to Ipswich, the last team they beat and the last team they scored against way back in November.

It’s now an astonishing 7 games and 10.5 hours since Forest last scored a goal. Ironically, that came against tomorrows opponents Ipswich, when we beat them 3-2 at the City Ground in November. It’s been a barren spell for Steve Cotterill and the team since then and the month ahead for the club shows no signs of being any easier than any of those previous.

Following the trip to Ipswich on Monday, Forest take on Leicester City at home in the FA Cup next weekend. Saturday January 14, sees table toppers Southampton visiting and they’re the League’s top scorers. Another away trip to London follows hot on the heels of the Saints game, when we travel to West Ham, who have already put 4 past us this season and at home. Forest end the month with a Tuesday night game against Playoff hopefuls Burnley and we never seem to do very well there.

Cotterill knows he needs to bolster the squad, but he has to sell before he buys to raise funds for new players. If the first half of the season has been tough for the supporters and the club, what happens in the second half could be even harder.