Nottingham Forest fell to their fourth defeat in their last eight matches at the hands of Reading at the weekend.

After the furore surrounding the departure of Aitor Karanka before the so close to kick-off, the preparation for the game would have been hampered somewhat.

Goals from John Swift and a Jack Robinson own goal were the difference for managerless Forest who had two men sent off, too.

Danny Fox was shown a red card in the 62nd minute, and Tendayi Darikwa was dismissed with seven minutes remaining.

It was a dismal afternoon for all connected with the club and compounded the end to a nightmare few days for the supporters.

The defeat sees Forest drop to ninth in the table, but with results going their way somewhat, they remain four points outside the play-off places.

With that said, here are THREE things we clearly learnt about Nottingham Forest after their 2-0 loss to Reading.

The players don't seem happy

The two red cards can be seen as ill-discipline and if Aitor Karanka was still in charge, would this have happened?

It’s purely coincidental, but you can’t help but think it could be down to the players being unhappy with the developments recently to see a manager who was popular with the players and supporters alike.

They were needless dismissals that could have been avoided.

Forest have lost their identity

Although inconsistent at times, Forest had a style and a way of playing under Karanka.

With his departure, they have lost that identity, and that was telling in the defeat to Reading at the weekend.

The Royals have a new man in charge, and they are getting Jose Gomez’s philosophy and way of playing, and Forest’s disappeared as soon as Karanka exited the City Ground.

If Grabban doesn’t score, they struggle

Lewis Grabban has failed to score in his six matches, and during that time, the club have only managed four goals in that period.

The six-game baron run equals his longest without a goal this season and considering Forest have hardly found the back of the net in that time; it’s telling they are starting to rely on the 31-year-old.

They scored nine in three games when Grabban netted in those consecutive fixtures just before the run of games without a goal.

In that time, too, Forest have failed to win – in fact – Forest have only won twice in the 16 games Grabban has failed to score in in all competitions.