Another fall guy as Forest now too close to drop

BOSS DUBBED BY SOME FANS AS 'DYCHEOSAURUS' GETS THE AXE AFTER REDS MISFIRE AT HOME

- By SARAH CLAPSON

RIGHT to the very end Sean Dyche continued to insist he wasn't doing a bad job in charge of Nottingham Forest.

"The only thing I'm frustrated with is it’s not a terrible run (of results)," he protested on Wednesday night. Barely three hours later, he was gone. Owner Evangelos Marinakis evidently disagreed.

Wednesday night's dire 0-0 home draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers made it two wins in 10 in the Premier League for the Reds.

Sure, it was nine points from their last six games (including a very creditable draw against Arsenal and a positive win away against Brentford) but the bigger picture was not exactly encouraging.

In recent games, particularly, the trend seemed to be a downward one. Losing to Leeds United and failing to beat bottom club Wolves left Dyche in a very tight spot. And especially when his back catalogue also included stinkers such as an Everton double, Wrexham and Braga.

His dismissal wasn’t down to results alone, albeit they certainly played their part. Performances mattered, too, and on that front Forest have been struggling sometimes in painful fashion.

On too many occasions, they offered nothing. Their latest outing was a case in point, with a whopping 35 shots at goal registered but not a single one counting.

Players, including some of the club's leading lights, need to take their share of the blame for that. But there is no question Dyche has failed to get the best out of an expensively-assembled and talented group. Has anyone improved on his watch? It is hard to think of an example.