The season promised so much for Nottingham Forest following a summer of extensive recruitment and the emergence of a plethora of academy stars under Mark Warburton, but with the former Brentford boss gone and Aitor Karanka at the helm, survival is the item on the agenda at the City Ground.

Comfortably above the bottom three, a few more wins should be enough to see them retain their second tier spot for another season, but many will consider this term a massive disaster following an inability to compete for the play-offs and the departure of Warburton.

Many have failed to live up to expectations, with defender Danny Fox one of the men struggling to make an impact in the East Midlands this season.

Here is what we have learnt about the 31-year-old in the past six months…

Fox has appeared just eleven times in the league this season, and with his contract set to expire in June, the player is battling to prove to Karanka that he deserves a new deal.

Fox has been used by the former Middlesbrough boss as a central defender alongside new signing Tobias Figueiredo, and has performed well since his deployment in the position.

There are several stars out of contract at the end of the season, and with the battle for places hotting up and Karanka likely to bring in his own men when the summer transfer window opens, Fox has it all to do if he is to remain at the club beyond the current campaign.

As mentioned, Fox has been used in a central role by Karanka, when his traditional berth is on the left side of defence.

Not the tallest of defenders at six-foot, the former Southampton man has adjusted well to the demands of occupying the heart of the back line, and his long-term future could lie in the position as his pace begins to diminish with age.

Still young at thirty-one, Fox still has a few more years to offer on the left side, but perhaps he will consider his options and begin to market himself as a central defender in the coming years.

Fox has picked up four yellow cards in his eleven appearances in the league this term, and his inability to time a challenge could come back to haunt Forest in the led up to the end of the season.

Perhaps he has lost that yard of pace, hence why he has struggled to break into the first team as a left sided defender and has been converted to a centre half by his new boss, but two poorly timed tackles due to his lack of speed could result in a sending off and Forest being put under the cosh when results to avoid a relegation scrap are needed.

Fox needs to use his experience to ensure his positioning improves so as to avoid lunging into tackles, and this is something the player must work on if he is to prolong his career in the second tier of English football.

Forest fans, thoughts on Fox?