Nottingham Forest will look forward to beginning a new era at the City Ground this weekend, after the recent managerial appointment of Martin O'Neill.

The 66-year old is a cult hero at the East Midlands club, having lifted the European Cup twice with the Reds, during a ten-year stint with the club, making over 285 appearances.

After the shock departure of former boss Aitor Karanka last week, the appointment of O'Neill is bound to lift fans' spirits, as the experienced manager looks to get Forest back on track and push for the play-offs - they currently sit four points off the top six in 9th position.

And it seems as if the Irishman is already trying to mark his own stamp on the club, with recent reports claiming that he is looking to bring back Joe Worrall to the club, after spending the first half of this season out on loan at Rangers.

The 22-year old was sent on loan to Ibrox at the start of the season, after falling out of favour with Karanka, but will have benefited massively from his brief spell in Scotland and could now be of use to a Forest defence that has looked shaky in recent times.

Here, we take a look at two Forest players who will be fearing for their place in the squad if Worrall returns to the City Ground

Michael Hefele

Hefele is a likeable character, but in terms of footballing ability, he has really struggled this season.

The towering German has been in and out of the starting line-up, filling in for Danny Fox and Tobias Figueiredo when the pair have been unavailable. Reports claimed at the end of Karanka's reign, that the latter wanted to sell the former Huddersfield man in January, which indicates that his time may be running out in the East Midlands.

You have to feel, that if a younger, and perhaps better option like Worrall returns to the club this window, time could be up for Hefele.

Michael Dawson

Another fans' favourite who has found it tough at times this season, Dawson's place could be uncertain as Worrall looks to return to the City Ground.

The veteran defender has made just eight league starts for Forest this season and has been second-choice to Figueiredo and Fox for large parts of this season.

He offers a load of experience off the pitch as displayed by being caretaker assistant manager against Reading on Saturday, but in terms of game-time, the re-signing of Worrall could really halt this.