IN his first programme notes as Nottingham Forest manager, prior to Saturday's game, Alex McLeish spoke of his good fortune at taking over a club that was "already looking upwards".
"Many new managers don't have that luxury," he said. "It is now my task to take the club further forward to achieve the long held ambitions that exist here."
While his target will be no different after the trials and tribulations of one difficult, embarrassing afternoon, the Scotsman may now be realising those goals may be a little bit further from reach than he first anticipated.
When he first accepted the challenge of becoming the fifth Reds manager in little over 18 months, from the outside, the position almost certainly looked a rosy proposition.
A team positioned handily on the edge of the play-off places and the backing of Kuwaiti owners who have proved themselves willing to back their manager in the transfer market . . . what was not to like?
Just 11 days into his tenure, McLeish now probably has a clearer idea of what he has taken on. And it might not quite match up with what it said on the tin. Luxurious may no longer be at the top of the list of words he might chose to use to describe the challenge he faces.
Between now and Saturday, McLeish must find the solution to a defensive crisis that has seen an already porous rearguard now further weakened by an injury to Daniel Ayala and the likely suspension of skipper Danny Collins.
And, between now and the end of the month, the manager will also have to make many significant decisions that will shape the look of a squad over which many crucial question marks still linger.
As well as wanting to add three or four new signings during the January transfer window, McLeish finds himself with plenty of other fires to fight.
He has four key players and two squad players out of contract in the summer. One of those, Dexter Blackstock, is the subject of growing interest from Leeds United. Matt Derbyshire has been made available for transfer and Jonathan Greening's future remains similarly unclear, after he returned from his loan spell at Barnsley.
Excluding Greening, there are only 11 players at the club who can be certain of their futures; who are under contract for next season. It is barely enough players to fill a team, when it comes to those who have any kind of stability.
And that is in a dressing room that is still coming to terms with the shock sacking of a man, in Sean O'Driscoll, who was hugely popular with the playing squad; who was just beginning to implement his own ideas.
That, of course, is in no way McLeish's fault. He is in no way responsible for the decisions made by the club's owners. He was handed the task of starting a new era, not taking accountability for the end of the previous one.
And, since his appointment, he has acted with dignity, decency and poise. He has come across as a driven, motivated man. And he has not tried to gloss over the issues with rhetoric or clichéd excuses.
But he still has to deal with the aftermath. And the initial end result from the decision to part company with O'Driscoll has hardly been a surprise.
Again, for this, McLeish is not to blame. It was always going to take a new manager time to stamp his ideas on the team; to implement his authority. There was always going to be a period of adjustment. That, you sense, is far from over.
Against Palace, when Forest adhered, largely, to the way they had done things under O'Driscoll, there was a positive, encouraging performance that earned them a deserved point against one of the sides challenging for promotion.
But at Blackburn, Forest took a step backwards. The 3-0 scoreline was a harsh reflection of what was witnessed on the pitch – and there were some positives to take from the game – but the performance, in general, was not as good, as Forest struggled with an orthodox 4-4-2 approach unfamiliar to them.
And, against Oldham, Forest regressed much further, as the League One strugglers claimed a deserved win; a win that, most worrying for Forest, was built on their greater desire, on their bigger appetite to win.
A game Forest had been entirely in control of, following a first half that had seen Matt Smith score an own goal to put Forest ahead and Dexter Blackstock denied by a fine save from Dean Bouzanis, was snatched out of their grasp in seven nightmare minutes after the break.
As Forest struggled to come to terms with their three-man central defence, Oldham exposed their uncertainty ruthlessly.
Robbie Simpson was given the time and space to let fly with a 22-yard shot that fizzed easily past Lee Camp to make it 1-1. Four minutes later, Dean Furman waltzed unchallenged down the right and delivered a fine cross to the far post, where an entirely unmarked Simpson arrived to head home a solid, but simple header beyond Camp.
There was controversy when referee Roger East sent off Collins following a tussle with Smith in which he appeared to be fouled himself, before eventually bringing down the Oldham man as he lost his footing.
Forest will correctly appeal the decision, but it was the sort of incident that, rightly or wrongly, is rarely overturned. Their punishment was only added to when Jose Baxter beat Forest's defensive wall, and Camp, from the resulting free-kick.
Billy Sharp came off the bench to net in injury time and give a closely fought look to the score but, in truth, it could have been worse for Forest, with Camp making good saves to deny Simpson a hat-trick and Youssouf M'Changama a spectacular goal, amid a second half in which Oldham seemed to win all the important challenges.
So, before unpredictable – but often free-scoring – Peterborough visit on Saturday, there is much work to do.
The hoped for return of Elliott Ward, a solid, composed central defender, on loan from Norwich would be a good starting point, as they look to stem the tide of goals that has seen them concede eight in their last three matches.
McLeish must find a way to instil some of the defensive resolve and organisation that had become the building block on which Birmingham City's rise into the Premier League was founded, under his guidance. Because, with a trip to face fierce rivals Derby County approaching on the horizon beyond Peterborough, followed by the visit of high-flying Watford and a trip to face McLeish's former side, Birmingham, at the start of February, the challenges do not get any easier.
Three games into his tenure, it is far too soon to cast judgement on a new manager, who has not even been in the job for two weeks.
But regardless of whether the demands of that job are more rigorous than he might have expected or not, there is no question that McLeish's first priority is to coax a significant improvement from his team as they return to action at the City Ground.
Forest can still look upwards under McLeish, they can still achieve those lofty ambitions. But there is no overlooking the fact that there is much work ahead if they are to do so.
