THIS time a year ago, Steve Cotterill was a man under significant pressure.

As manager of crisis-stricken Portsmouth, Cotterill was nervously casting an eye over his shoulder, as the south coast club edged ever closer to the drop zone in the Championship.

Experience told him that the answer was simple. He knew what was required to give his squad a much needed lift.

"What happened at Portsmouth was that we were down to the bare bones at the start of the season," he said.

"But, in January, I went out and got a few loan signings, which saw us over the finishing line.

"We went on a good run from January onwards. We were able to go away for four or five days to Gran Canaria with the new loan signings we had brought in.

"We had a mini pre-season, doing some warm weather training and gave the lads the chance to get to know each other.

"We then fought our way to the end of the season. That would be an ideal scenario here.

"But it is purely down to finances. We know what we need."

Even at Portsmouth, where the majority of players were being shuffled hastily out of the exit, as the owners looked to slash the wage bill, there was the room to bring in players of the calibre of Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence from Stoke.

As they prepare to face Leicester City in the FA Cup tonight with a depleted squad, the challenge at Forest is an all too familiar one for Cotterill.

That, however, is what got him the job.

But, while he knows a few new signings, even on loan, would be a boost as Forest look to claw their way out of the bottom three, the outlook, on that front, remains bleak.

"I keep asking the question. But if there is no money available, it is very difficult to conjure any up," said Cotterill.

"Time and time again I have said that we will be reactive, rather than proactive in this transfer window."

The mention of the possibility of the r-word – relegation – gets short shrift from the manager, however.

"I don't want to think about that because I am a positive person. There are enough games to go and we have to carry on playing the football that we have been doing since I came here," he said.

"If the injury situation stays as it is, it is going to be tough. I will not say that we will be in trouble because that would give you headlines.

"It is going to be tough but it has been tough already, right up until now.

"The problems that we have struggled with this season are facts. It is hard being in this window when you have seven or eight players out of contract, whose agents have been working hard to get them out of the door.

"Other managers ring me and let me know that they are being spoken to about my players. What you do, in the end, as managers, is look after each other.

"Agents are doing what they do all year round but it is a honey pot for them in January. It is a good time for them to move their players on, or to tell them to sit where they are and move on a free transfer in the summer."

The biggest blow for Cotterill tonight will be the absence of skipper Luke Chambers, following his controversial sending off against Southampton, for a supposed elbow on David Connolly.

"It is very harsh, I have seen it numerous times," said Cotterill. "But I don't believe it is an appeal we would win.

"There is a test that you have to satisfy to get a red card overturned. I believe the authorities are looking at the wording of it at the minute to perhaps change it.

"And it does need to be changed, because you have to prove the referee has made a gross error.

"I am not sure we can prove that, because there has been contact. But if you go to elbow somebody, you do it with a bent arm and a clenched fist. There is no way he has done that."

What particularly annoyed Cotterill was the reaction of Southampton's players, who surrounded referee Eddie Ilderton to furiously appeal for a red card.

He will not instruct his players to do the same.

"I do not like the rushing to the referee. There was one of their lads who did that, which disappointed me," he said.

"We had an incident in the first game with Leicester, when Matt Mills caught Dexter Blackstock with an arm. But we did not go rushing to the referee.

"That was the disappointing part for me. We all want to gain an advantage. But let the referee deal with it.

"It hasn't got to that point, no, where I would instruct our players to do that. I think those things are short-term gains.

"I want my team to be as honest as I am."

Tonight, Cotterill comes up against a club who are almost certain to spend again in the January window, as Nigel Pearson looks to ignite their promotion charge following his return to the club.

"I get on well with Nigel, he is somebody I really get on with," said Cotterill.

"In the last game, they had a few good chances in that last 20 minutes and came on strong. But whether you are home or away, you are not going to dominate Leicester for 90 minutes.

"I am sure they will be two different sides from the first games. I think both teams will change.

"We need to produce a good performance. The only thing we can focus on is getting a performance out of this side.

"They have some good players, but we have some good players as well. It should be a good game."

The reward for a win would be a home tie against Swindon Town in the fourth round.

But, for Forest, for the first time in years, making progress in the competition might also have another significance.

If they go far enough, it might generate the finance that could allow Cotterill to make a much needed new addition.