THE dust is starting to settle following the whirlwind appointment of Alex McLeish as Nottingham Forest boss.
The Boxing Day sacking of Sean O'Driscoll still surprises me, following an excellent 4-2 home win against Leeds earlier in the day.
But now, we can only look forward. McLeish is the man in charge and I do believe he can take the Reds to the next level.
I mean, look back on 2012 and it started badly. There was the sad and sudden death of owner Nigel Doughty.
What he did for the club can never be underestimated and to die at his home at the start of February sent shockwaves through the club.
On the pitch, it was a battle. The football was not great, it was scrappy, horrible at times but thankfully, Steve Cotterill managed to keep Forest up.
Since then, the new owners have come in and they have not just talked the talk, they are starting to walk it too.
They seemed like the real deal, the new scoreboards are a wise investment, they look great and they backed Sean O'Driscoll to sign 14 players since appointing him in the summer.
The goalposts have been changed though, with promotion now the mandate this season, not just consolidation.
The ruthless nature of axing O'Driscoll and moving quickly for McLeish shows they want success – and they are not prepared to wait.
But as we enter 2013 tomorrow, I feel there is real reason to be optimistic.
The Reds are three points off the play-offs but have it all to play for in their final 21 matches.
And despite the negativity surrounding the change around in management, McLeish will get the fans' backing.
He is in charge of their club, they gave him a warm welcome on Saturday and everybody associated with Forest wants the same thing – success.
It is evident there is a great squad of players already at his disposal and the big thing for me is they all seem to be together. There is a unity, a real appetite to succeed.
But maybe at times, there is too much side stepping of each other. To be successful, sometimes you have to step on somebody else's toes. You have to be a bit nasty.
And I think McLeish might bring some ruthlessness with him to the changing room.
He has won promotion with Birmingham when the pressure was on and he knows the pressure is on at the City Ground. After all, chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi has made it clear he must win promotion.
You don't achieve that being Mr Nice Guy but from what I have heard, McLeish is a popular figure in the game and will be respected.
He watched from the directors' box at the weekend in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace and will be bringing his own backroom staff in as well.
The owners have demonstrated they mean business and January will make their intentions further clear.
McLeish will have targets, probably a central defender and wingers to start with, and he will expect the Reds to get those nailed down.
In other seasons, when the Reds have waited until the last minute to strike, it has caused frustration. It became a familiar and annoying theme for Forest supporters.
I expect them to strike early this time out so McLeish can get his men through the door as soon as possible.
It has been such an up-and-down year for Nottingham Forest but, hopefully, the year closes with the club in a healthy position.
There is plenty to be optimistic about and, while O'Driscoll's sacking caught everybody by surprise, I can see a bright future in 2013.
I wish you all a happy New Year. Hopefully 2013 can prove the year the Reds finally return to the Premier League.
