Forest were wretched in going down to a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa, who made it 11 home wins on the spin thanks to Ollie Watkins’ first-half fizzer and John McGinn’s second-half brace.

Forest briefly got back into the game through Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal but they were poor in slipping to another loss – their worst run in the Premier League since late 2023 amid a run of form which saw Steve Cooper sacked.

It might be too soon for Sean Dyche to be linked with suffering a similar fate, but the clouds are gathering and Tuesday’s visit to fellow strugglers West Ham, managed by former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, now takes on extra significance.

And Dyche came out fighting and pointed to how he had improved Forest since taking over from Ange Postecoglou in October.

He said: “The league position is better than when we got here. That was worrying. When I got here, we were two points inside the relegation zone. So, that’s the truth of it.

“I was never thinking we were just going to run out of it and be in the top seven, trust me.

“So I think it’s a work in progress. It still is. So that’s the truth of that side of it.

“That growth that you see, I think we’d scored one or two goals in the previous six games, now we’ve scored 13 and 13. It doesn’t sound a change, but that’s a big change.

“Got more points on the board. I think it was one in five games or something before we got here, but we’ve got more points on the board.

“So that’s showing good signs. What changes the story is, when you put a run together like we have.

“I have to look at the reality, not the noise. I always remind the players, there’s a truth in every story, and that’s our truth.

“So that’s the reality of our situation. But it still needs addressing, of course, and it’s a constant situation in football for the manager and for a coach and for the players.”

Watkins continued his impressive form with his fourth strike in three over the festive period to celebrate his 250th Villa appearance in style.

McGinn then struck twice after the break, including one from 35 yards, as Unai Emery’s men recorded their best streak at Villa Park since 1990.

The Spaniard said of Watkins’ return to form: “I was happy two months ago. I am happy now. For him it is much, much better.

“Even when he wasn’t scoring, others were scoring. We need every player focused like him, and doing his task like him.

“The most important thing is how we can complete our tasks. The numbers are important because it makes them a protagonist. It is fantastic.”