At most other club, three straight wins to end the season and secure a top half finish in the process, would seem enough to suggest that whoever is managing that side would at the very least be given the start of the season to build.

Nottingham Forest, however, are not like any other club these days, and it is no secret that their owners will do anything within their power to finally reach the promised land of the Premier League. Something which already looks like it could come back to haunt Martin O'Neill.

In all fairness, while O'Neill's overall tenure at The City Ground has been far from convincing, you feel that three wins on the bounce - including a 3-0 win over play-off chasing Middlesbrough - may have done enough to suggest that the Irishman was starting to find the right formula at Forest, justifying his chances of being there at the start of next season.

That however, does not appear to be the case.

According to reports in Portuguese publication A Bola, Forest are already considering appointing Moreirense manager Ivo Vieira to succeed O'Neill.

Regardless of whether not it turns out to be Vieira who steps in should O'Neill be given his marching orders, you feel that Portugal is a smart place for Forest to look for O'Neill's successor.

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Much of that boils down to the man within Forest's playing squad who could prove so crucial to their hopes of promotion to the Premier League next season.

In his debut season at the City Ground, Joao Carvalho has quickly won the hearts and minds of many Forest fans, and while he struggled for opportunities early in O'Neill's reign, his standout performances from the start in those three victories to end the season suggest that he will have a significant role to play next season.

Already, the Portuguese midfielder has set himself the target of a career best return in terms of both goals and assists in the coming campaign, which has to excite those at the club.

If bringing in a Portuguese manager will help make Carvalho feel more at ease in the east Midlands and bring the best out of him, then you could be hard pressed to blame them for doing so.

As Aston Villa, Derby, West Brom and Leeds have all found out over the past week to varying degrees of joy and despair, promotion can so often be won and lost on fine margins. Therefore, this is one you feel Forest may well look to exploit.