Alone In The Forest

Nottingham Forest shocked their supporters and some of their players with the firing of manager Sean O'Driscoll last Wednesday. The manner in which the sacking took place was tasteless to say the least, following a 4-2 victory at their City Ground that lifted them to within a single point of a playoff place in the table.

The Al Hasawi family lost patience with O'Driscoll after a poor run of form that brought with it two wins from the teams last six matches—the Kuwaiti owners expected to be in the race for automatic promotion at this point of the season.

The decision to sack the manager was largely unpopular among Forest fans, and the owners found a way to make things even worse by appointing Alex McLeish as O'Driscoll's successor.

Considering the rumour mill was throwing out the names of Mark Hughes, Roberto Di Matteo and Forest hero Roy Keane—ending up with McLeish was a shot in the gut.

McLeish had a disastrous run with Aston Villa last season that earned him the axe last May, playing a brand of football that was unappealing and more importantly ineffective. The Scotsman is confident of winning over the fans with victories, but, that remains to be seen.

Currently, McLeish is a lone wolf in the Forest despite his optimism.

The Reds hosted Crystal Palace on Saturday, with McLeish sitting in the directors box and assistant coaches Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Rob Kelly in temporary charge of the first team for the match.

Forest ended up earning a hard-fought 2-2 draw, with Billy Sharp scoring an injury time equalizer. McLeish was able to witness first-hand his new team's determination and never-say-die attitude after coming from behind twice to avoid defeat.