TO Billy Davies, a man bereft of new signings and burdened with frustration, it was a cause for further dismay.

To those Nottingham Forest fans within the shrine to the 1980s that is Peterborough's London Road home, it may have provoked a different reaction.

On a day when the Reds never truly found top gear against a Posh side that seemed to be fuelled by an additional appetite, there was still some reason for optimism.

As Joel Lynch became the sixth player on the Forest injury list, limping off in the 16th minute to join Lewis McGugan, Kelvin Wilson, Nathan Tyson, West Morgan and David McGoldrick in the treatment room, Davies will have viewed it as the moment when his available squad was reduced to just 16, with two weeks to go until the start of the new season.

And, among that number were three players – Julian Bennett, Brendan Moloney and Matt Thornhill – who the manager insists would benefit from going out on loan.

Maybe so. But, as the situation currently stands, with the squad that came so close to winning promotion last season suddenly left to look thin and under-equipped, in terms of strength-in-depth, such players could yet have a part to play closer to home.

And, while Forest may have lost consecutive matches to Tranmere and Peterborough, following their 1-0 defeat at the weekend – inspired, predictably, by an eighth-minute goal from former loan signing George Boyd – both matches have also provided evidence to suggest that may not be a disaster at all.

Yes, there is no question that Forest urgently need new additions.

It has got to the stage, in fact, where new faces are needed if only to lift the mood in the dressing room, where the lack of activity in the transfer market has left spirits flat.

But, on the evidence of the last two matches, there could still be a worthwhile contribution to come from Forest's trio of forgotten men.

In the case of Bennett, there may not be an immediate role to play, given the amount of time he has spent on the sidelines following his career-threatening knee injury, even if a crunching tackles in the first few minutes at Tranmere last week suggested that the cavalier, no-nonsense spirit still runs through his veins.

But, when Lynch limped slowly off the Peterborough pitch on Saturday, it was the lanky, languid figure of Moloney who came on to replace him.

And, for much of the time, he stood out as one of Forest's better players, as he rampaged up and down the right flank.

Notts County, the club on the opposite bank of the river Trent, remain eager to take the young Irishman on loan for a second spell at Meadow Lane, after seeing him impress in the first half of last season.

And Championship minnows Scunthorpe felt the defender was good enough to play in the second tier, as he joined them in the second half of the campaign, only to have his contribution cut short by a knee injury.

With James Perch, a player comfortable in that right back role, having been sold to Newcastle, the Magpies may have to be patient until new signings are made.

Thornhill's story is a similar one, following his loan moves to Brighton and Cheltenham last season.

Coming up to his 22nd birthday, his 43 starts in professional football do not properly reflect a burgeoning talent that once prompted Colin Calderwood to compare him to Paul Scholes.

With a deft touch – demonstrated by a clever, looping flick over the head of his marker, followed by a sharp turn and driving surge into space – Thornhill did well after coming off the bench in the second half on Saturday, just as he had done when starting the Tranmere game.

Blessed with an ability to time his powerful runs into the box, Thornhill can be a significant attacking threat, as anyone who regularly watched Forest reserves in recent seasons will testify.

It is likely that, even if he does not go out on loan to another club, Thornhill's contributions will still largely be limited to outings in the Totesport.com Central League, after Forest decided to enter a side in the competition again this season.

But, if new additions don't arrive on the horizon soon, then both Thornhill and Moloney will at least feature in the first team squad on a regular basis.

As Bennett, the only player not to have been used at London Road, completed a warm down on the pitch after the final whistle, a lone, solitary figure looked on from the stands.

Barry Fry, Peterborough's larger-than-life director of football, remains one of the most prolific wheeler dealers in the game.

Perhaps, on an afternoon when their squad's lack of depth was exposed even further, Forest could have done worse than seek his advice on the art of signing players.

PETERBOROUGH: Lewis, Langmead, Lee, Wesolowski, Mclean, Boyd, McCann (Rowe 71), Mackail-Smith (Hibbert 72), Bennett, Davies (Mendez-Laing 72), Ofori-Twumasi. Subs: Simpson, Piergianni, Griffiths, Collis.

FOREST: Camp (Smith 60), Chambers, Anderson, Adebola (McCleary 65), Earnshaw (Thornhill 66), Cohen, Gunter, McKenna (Majewski 45), Moussi, Blackstock, Lynch (Moloney 16). Subs: Bennett.