Mutterings of a play-off push echoed around The City Ground at the start of the season as Nottingham Forest made a good start to their first full season of football under former Rangers boss, Mark Warburton.

The Londoner had steered the Reds to safety on the final day of the season with a thumping four-nil win over Ipswich Town and an influx of solid signings were added to a young squad littered with promising talent.

Alas, things did not quite flourish under Warburton, who was sacked and replaced with Aitor Karanka at the turn of the year.

The Spaniard has hardly proven a revelation, with the East Midlanders failing to find the back of the net in each of their past five games heading into the weekend's fixtures.

Just a few points above the drop, fans will be holding their breath in the closing stages and Karanka must address this trio of problems as soon as possible...

Forest haven't scored in five games and a continuation of this will see them relegated.

They hold a relatively healthy lead over their relegation rivals but all could change in the space of a week, with back to back wins for the likes of Birmingham City and Barnsley sure to drag Karanka's men into the mire.

Youngster Ben Brereton has just a handful of goals for the season and experienced striker Daryl Murphy hasn't set the world alight since Karanka's arrival.

Someone needs to step up and find the back of the net in the coming weeks or Forest's future could be decided on the final day once again.

Tobias Figueiredo, Jack Colback, Costel Pantilimon and Lee Tomlin are just some of the players whose loan deals are set to expire at the end of the season and Karanka has a decision to make as to whether to pursue full-time deals or not.

Figueiredo has been excellent following his arrival from Sporting Lisbon and there is an option to buy.

The rest will likely leave along with Everton youngster Kieran Dowell, who looks set to play way above the level Forest are currently at.

Expect big business at The City Ground in the summer, starting with decisions over these futures.

Forest have drawn just seven games in the league this season and tying a few more across the course of the campaign would have given the club far more breathing space going into the closing stages.

Even now a single point would go a long way towards survival with a reasonably comfortable lead over third-bottom Barnsley and a game in hand over most of their rivals.

If Karanka can sure up his backline and avoid the conceding of late goals in the manner of the one let in against Brentford on Tuesday in the 82nd minute, then the Reds should secure their second tier status for another season.

Forest fans, do you think you'll survive?