Sheffield Wednesday piled more pressure on Stuart Pearce as they condemned lacklustre Nottingham Forest to a 2-0 defeat at the City Ground.
The Reds produced another disappointing display as the Owls departed the City Ground with their first win here since 2001, thanks to goals from Kieran Lee and Chris Maguire, either side of half time.
Forest rarely found their attacking threat in the final third, as they came up against one of the meanest defences in the Championship.
With his side now having claimed just two wins in 20 outings in all competitions – and with a massive game against Derby looming on the horizon – the questions continue to mount for the Forest manager.
And his side rarely looked to have the answers at the City Ground, with the final whistle greeted by a chorus of boos.
Dorus de Vries retained his place in the Forest goal, ahead of Karl Darlow, who found himself on the bench for the second game running.
Todd Kane was handed his debut for the Reds, amid three changes to the side from the starting XI that faced Rochdale in the FA Cup. The other alterations saw Jamaal Lascelles replace Kelvin Wilson in the centre of defence and Ben Osborn restored to the side, with Lars Veldwijk dropping to the bench.
Kane, the 21-year-old Chelsea defender, slotted into the team at right back, with Eric Lichaj pushing across to the left side of the back four.
Pearce was given a rousing reception from the Forest fans as the game kicked off – and again in the third minute, when many fans took to their feet in a pre-planned show of support for the manager, who famously wore the number three shirt as a player with the Reds.
Forest started brightly, with Michail Antonio having a number of threatening moments against his former club – and Kane looking as though he would be able to combine well with Chris Burke down the right side.
But it was the visitors who carved out the first chances, as Jacques Maghoma twice threatened. The winger was allowed to run 40 yards with the ball, before bending a shot just wide of de Vries' right hand post. And it took an outstanding tackle from Lascelles to thwart the Wednesday man, after a sloppy back pass had sent him sprinting menacingly into the box. The timing of the defender's tackle was vital, as he snatched the ball of Jacques Maghoma's toes, just as he shaped up to shoot.
The Owls then saw Jose Semedo lash a shot wide of the post from the edge of the box – and Forest responded with an effort from a similar position, with Burke finding power, but not direction, in a crisp volley.
Forest began to build a short spell of pressure, with Antonio and then Osborn both threatening to ghost into the box, only to be denied by last gasp challenges and, when Britt Assombalonga did trick his way into the area, he saw a shot charged down.
When Antonio picked out Assombalonga with a cross, his header took a clear deflection off a defender and, when a goal kick was wrongly awarded, Pearce marched onto the pitch to demand answers from referee Andy D'Urso, before wisely changing his mind and returning to his technical area.
When a shot, this time from Osborn, was deflected wide, this time a corner was given, but Robert Tesche fired wildly wide at the far post. Another Forest corner saw them carve out another chance, with Osborn's delivery picking out Tesche, who was denied at close range by a fine save from Kieren Westwood.
It looked as though the game would be level at the interval, but Wednesday had other ideas, striking the first blow on the stroke of half time. It looked as though Forest would survive a scare when Tesche cleared a Nuhiu header off the line, but Lees was on hand to scramble the ball home, forcing it home inside the near post.
Forest brought on Gary Gardner at the break, in place of Burke, to give the on loan Villa man his debut. But he had little chance to make an impact before Wednesday had doubled their lead.
When the Reds failed to deal with a delivery into the box, the ball fell kindly for Maguire, who took full advantage, producing an outstanding finish, low into the back of the net, from 12 yards.
It might have been worse for Forest, with de Vries saving brilliantly to deny Stevie May, with Lees then firing wide from the rebound. Maghoma also had an effort deflected wide, with the Reds looking shell shocked.
Antonio and Assombalonga both had half-hearted claims for penalties, but they were made more out of hope than expectation. Although Antonio did come close with a header, which Westwood did well to push away, from under his bar.
Forest made two further changes, with Assombalonga limping off injured to be replaced by Veldwijk and Jamie Paterson coming on for Kane, while Jeremy Helan came on for May, for the Owls.
The home side, even with 15 minutes to play, rarely looked like finding their way back into the game, however, with their confidence looking to have drained away completely.
When Jamie Paterson did deliver the ball into the danger zone, Velwijk was punished for a push, just as an opening finally seemed likely.
Veldwijk missed a golden chance when Osborn picked him out at the far post, prodding a shot wide when he seemed certain to score.
Forest: de Vries, Kane (Paterson 68), Hobbs, Lascelles, Lichaj, Burke (Gardner 45), Osborn, Vaughan, Tesche, Antonio, Assombalonga (Veldwijk 68). Subs: Darlow, Laing, McLaughlin, Oliver Burke.
Sheff Weds: Westwood, Loovens, Semedo, May (Helan 72), Palmer, Nuhiu, Maguire (Lavery 85), Lees, Maghoma (Baker 81), Lee, Dielna. Subs: Kirkland, Mattock, Hutchinson, de Havilland.
