Nottingham Forest face a summer of uncertainty once again as we approach the end of the 2014/15 campaign

The club could face a situation where they find themselves searching for their eighth manager in two-and-a-half years since Fawaz Al Hasawi took over in the boardroom.

Hopefully that won't be the case but nonetheless it offers cause for intrigue as the Reds cast a glancing eye towards the 2015/16 season.

Here I take a look at FIVE things the City Ground outfit must do in order to be successful during next season.

PRESS NEXT PAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE THINGS

1) Dougie's contract needs extending

Whether fans of the club wanted the former Crystal Palace and Bolton Wanderers boss to step in as Stuart Pearce's successor is now immaterial with the on-field transformation coming as a pleasant surprise

Freedman has an 18-month contract which will be reviewed at the end of the season allowing both parties the chance to walk away should they feel obliged to do so.

Al Hasawi simply has to offer Freedman the chance to continue in the role and allow him to complete the job which he has now started with such aplomb.

In the past I have criticised for the Chairman for issuing managers with excessive contracts but the heart and desire the players are showing at the moment speaks volumes for the work the current manager is putting in on the training ground.

2) Make Henri Lansbury captain

The Arsenal academy graduate is the epitome of everything that playing for Nottingham Forest is all about and making him captain would be a good move for all parties.

Lansbury has matured as a player since the arrival of the new manager and he is evidently much happier now he is playing in his more natural central midfield role.

Chris Cohen has been the captain for the last two seasons and whilst he is an influential figure his main focus should be getting himself fit and playing football matches rather than having the burden of leading the side too.

After three career threatening knee injuries he is now in a last chance saloon situation and everyone is hoping to see him come back stronger this time around.

Making Lansbury captain would signal the intention to build the side around the 24-year-old and in doing so is likely to see him continue in his current sensational form.

 

3) Keep Michail Antonio

This boy just continues to produce goal after goal of exceptional quality and long may it continue.

Antonio was signed from Sheffield Wednesday for just £1.5m in the summer and what a mockery he is currently making out of that price tag.

His last two goals for the club against Bolton and Rotherham have seen him pick the ball up travel some 50 yards with it, beating off numerous players and smashing the ball past a stranded goalkeeper.

I actually wouldn't swap Antonio for any other player, who plays in his position, in the league. It is years since we saw a player with such raw talent of taking players down at the City Ground and when he is in the side we have always have a threat of a goal from nothing.

There is talk that Tony Pulis the West Bromwich Albion manager is a long-term admirer of the 24-year-old and is keen to take him to the Hawthorns. Looking at some of the crazy money being brandished around at the moment for Championship players, I hope Pulis is thinking of a bid in the region of double figures.

4) Let youth progress

This season alone we have seen Ben Osborne, Jorge Grant, Oliver Burke and Tyler Walker all make their mark on the first-team scene and Stuart Pearce must take immense adulation for that.

Admittedly it has been Freedman who has given Burke and Walker their league debuts but it was his predecessor that put them on a pedestal to make an impact.

It was a fantastic moment when Grant made a goal-scoring debut in the Capital One Cup at Tottenham Hotspur, and the look on his face told more than a thousand words.

Given the fact that the Reds are currently in a transfer embargo it will be vital to keep nourishing these young kids and getting them ready to perform at senior level.

In Freedman we have a boss who will not be afraid to give these youngsters a chance when the time is right and he has already said he will not be throwing them straight into the deep end.

5) Give the manager a full season

Under the Al Hasawi era we are yet to see a manager get a full season in the managerial hot seat and that simply has to change if we are to succeed.

What better time that now for Fawaz to come out and declare Freedman as his manager for the next 12-15 months and to issue a rallying cry for the supporters to back him through thick and thin.

The 'proper' supporters to be honest have always backed the manager regardless of the identity and even earlier in the season when Pearce was still in charge the fans inside the City Ground on match day chanted the legend's name.

It is to be expected that during next season we will at some points suffer a blip but I have been impressed with Freedman's demeanour in pre and post-match interviews and he will never shirk away from honesty regardless of how good or bad a performance has been.