THERE may be no new signings on the horizon but, as Nottingham Forest run out at Barnsley tonight, there may be one or two new faces of a sort in the side.

Following the 'unacceptable' first half capitulation at Preston on Saturday, a frustrated Billy Davies has pledged there will be changes to the team at Oakwell this evening.

And, as the Reds look to bring an end to a run of five consecutive away defeats in the Championship, the Scot has challenged his players to grasp their opportunity.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, after that first half on Saturday, I am thinking about making changes, to give other players the chance," said Davies.

"That first half was appalling. It is unacceptable."

In the last few days, Davies has attempted to sign a left-back and a central midfielder.

On Saturday, a huge factor was the absence of Paul McKenna, the influential skipper.

And Davies admits Forest do not have somebody who can come in and do the same job.

"No, we haven't," he said. "But we do have Forest players who are paid by Forest to be midfield players.

"They have to go and play midfield, because that is why they are part of the squad. They have to stand up and be counted.

"I can only open the door for people, I can't play for them. They have to take on the challenge and show that they can do it.

"What we do have is an opportunity for Lewis McGugan, Raddy Majewski, Chris Cohen or James Perch to come in.

"They are players who know the system, know the way we train, know the way we play.

"They are players who, with six weeks to go, do not need to come in and learn about how we do things at Forest. It is not just a case of signing players, it is gelling players and fitting them into their squad.

"I have said it before, but it is time for these fringe players to stand up and be counted."

Davies will continue his search for loan signings this week.

But he added: "There is nothing in the pipeline at the minute.

"I have had a couple of major slaps in the face in the last few days, when it comes to knock-backs over people who would have been very good signings.

"But I understand why their managers did not want to let them go.

"We will keep looking and we will keep asking the questions. But it will not be easy.

"There are names on my list of targets. There is a full back we have been looking at – but he has not played for ten months.

"He is a player who would be perfect for our situation, but is he fit?

"Alternatively, do we get a player from the Premiership who is on £40k a week and ask him to put his neck on the chopping block for six weeks?

"And, if you look at the Premier League, the starting point of the wages is going to be £20k as well.

"Plus it is all happening in the top-flight. You have people who want to keep their squads together because they are fighting for Europe or because they are fighting relegation.

"There are players out there, of course there are, but are they the right type of player for us?

"We have to be very careful."

Forest's recent stuttering form away from the City Ground has seen them slip five points behind second-placed West Brom.

But Davies believes the door is still open for Forest.

"When the pressure is on, you will see the top teams slip up," he said. "Newcastle, West Brom, Forest, Cardiff, Swansea – it will happen."

Davies will tonight be hoping that Forest's run of slip-ups has come to an end.