OVER the next week or so, the shape of Nottingham Forest's season may well be defined by what happens off the pitch, rather than on it.

Following a day that somehow managed to demonstrate the lack of depth in the City Ground squad as well as showcasing the quality they do possess, you sense the frustration is mounting in manager Billy Davies.

After yet another game that Forest might easily have won, but instead ended up collecting only a solitary point that was not a fair reflection of their play, the Scot, in typically cryptic fashion, sent out a message to the club's hierarchy, with his repeated questioning of whether Forest 'can afford' the players they are pursuing.

The real issue, you suspect, is not whether they can afford to pursue the likes of Darren Pratley and Peter Whittingham – but whether they are willing to come closer to matching the asking price levelled on their heads by Swansea and Cardiff.

And, by asking the question, Davies was not looking for an answer. He already knows the answer – which is that Forest do, unquestionably, have the financial resources to capture such targets.

No, what Davies was doing was posing a challenge.

What he is asking is not whether Forest can afford to sign these players, but can they afford not to?

Without new additions, the clear intimation from Davies is that promotion is beyond Nottingham Forest this season; that the club would be taking a step backwards if they fail to inject a few new additions.

So, do the club back their increasingly vocal, confrontational manager, by making the signings he craves?

Or do they let yet another transfer window close without meaningful additions?

The end result of that would certainly be interesting, at a time when the relationship between manager and hierarchy already seems increasingly fractious.

It could be the difference between another promotion challenge and mid-table mediocrity – and not just because of the lack of depth in the Forest squad.

But also because they are at risk of negating the influence of another of their most significant assets, in Davies himself.

Chairman Nigel Doughty admitted recently that handling Davies is like playing a game.

And Forest knew, when appointing him, what they were taking on.

Davies is a passionate, driven figure who, at his best, is probably the leading manager in the Championship.

But that hunger for success also makes him an outspoken, demanding character; a firebrand who is never shy about sharing his opinions, be they positive or negative.

Davies biggest strength, however, is also his ability to inspire, to cajole performances and belief from players; to transform a group of talented individuals into teams capable of achieving unexpected feats, because they are stronger than the sum of their parts.

He did it at Preston, Derby and, last season, at Forest, as they came close to earning a place in the top flight.

Had they made additions in January – particularly if they had managed to add Pratley and Nicky Shorey – they may well have been enjoying Premier League football now.

Instead, the desire not to breach the valuations put on players by the club's acquisitions panel – of which Davies himself is a part, but which is also heavily influenced by David Pleat, when it comes to the price tag put on targets – left them without the final pieces of the jigsaw.

On Saturday, an injury to Paul McKenna in the warm up was enough to expose the short comings of the Forest squad again, as the lack of impetus, drive and leadership he provides was obviously missed, just as it was in the closing weeks of last season.

The failure to fill an obvious void in January led to incredible frustration in the manager's office.

A repeat of those failures now, could make the relationship between club and manager completely untenable.

Last season, Davies achieved the impossible, persuading a group that had narrowly avoided relegation that they were capable of promotion.

It now appears that Davies himself is beginning to question whether they are capable of a repeat performance.

And if he loses his own motivation and belief, can he be expected to inspire the same in his players?

The manager's unrest is already having an influence in the dressing room, where the confidence generated by last season's heroics has been replaced by uncertainty and doubt.

The frustrating factor is that Forest do not require the 'four or five' stellar signings that Davies has recently demanded.

Two or three quality additions would be sufficient to ensure that, over the course of the season, they have enough depth to cope with the inevitable injuries and suspensions on the horizon.

At the minute, when McKenna is injured, the craft and guile of Raddy Majewski and the athleticism of Guy Moussi – while good players in their own right – do not possess the right qualities to fill the hole he leaves.

Pratley, a player who leads by example with his physical presence, mobility and attacking threat, perhaps would be.

While Whittingham, the Cardiff winger, would ensure that the position on the left side of Forest's front line was filled by somebody more comfortable in the role, rather than Dexter Blackstock.

Blackstock, to his credit, actually toiled effectively in the position at Reading, carving out a fine headed chance for Paul Anderson that brought one of a number of game changing saves from keeper Adam Federici, with an accurate, looping cross.

But it is hard to escape the feeling that Blackstock would be better off in the centre, where his own attributes would be more of an influence.

Robert Earnshaw, who was also denied by a spectacular save from the Reading keeper, earned Forest a point when Federici then, inexplicably, kicked the ball against the back of one of his own players, presenting the striker with the simple task of side-stepping him and slotting into an empty net.

It left Forest still chasing their first win of the season, following three Championship fixtures that could all easily have ended in victory.

But the biggest result of the season could well prove to be what Forest can achieve in the coming week, in the transfer market.

Davies is not the type of man who would quit and walk away from a job. But, if they do fail to make new additions, he could easily talk his way out of it.