Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka watched his side produce a wretched first half display against Reading last night before they recovered to claim a draw through Lee Tomlin's first goal for the club. 

Omar Richards deservedly put the Royals ahead at the City Ground after Forest started the clash between the sides 17th and 18th in the Championship slowly.

It was a big half time team talk for Karanka who was facing the prospect of another match where his side failed to score and continued their dismal run of goalscoring form.

Forest were much improved after the break and Tomlin's late strike was a deserved reward for their second half endeavours.

Karanka gave the Nottingham Post an insight into what changed after the break. He said: "I cannot tell you what I said at half time, because kids might hear it. We needed to be more aggressive.

"We played very well against Burton last weekend, but that was just about being organised on the pitch. Today we needed to be organised but also more aggressive.

"I wanted to see more from us because we were losing every single challenge in the first half. We did not speak about tactics. We spoke about the intensity and how we needed to be more aggressive and win our challenges.

"It can be difficult for me to understand why we do not do that from the beginning, when we have done it in the second half."

The Verdict

There is still a disconnect between what Karanka wants from his players and what they are able to give him.

That is not an immediate worry given that he hasn't been in the job that long but Forest just need to ensure they grab enough goals to keep themselves ahead of the relegation battlers - the current gap to that pack is just four points.

They can do it at times which is a sign of improvement but the former Boro boss will be demanding it on a more consistent basis.

Forest fans - what are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below...