ON a night when Nottingham boxer Carl Froch proudly paraded his world title belt around the City Ground, Nottingham Forest were left on the ropes by a performance that lacked punch and panache.

Colin Calderwood had sent his players out with a public challenge to start turning creditable draws, like the one secured at Coventry on Saturday, into precious victories.

Instead, the ghost of inconsistency returned to haunt the Reds, and he was left to contemplate the very real possibility his managerial career at the City Ground could soon be over.

Forest must quickly rediscover the swagger and verve they showed at the Ricoh Arena if he is not to be counted out.

Many Forest players recorded messages of support on a DVD for Froch, prior to his fight.

It might have been useful had he returned the favour because, while it was Froch's determination and desire that spurred him to a historic victory over Jean Pascal, Forest suffered because of a distinct lack of those qualities.

When they did find a rare gap in Sheffield United's guard, they failed to deliver the killer blow, with Robert Earnshaw and Nathan Tyson both uncharacteristically failing to convert when clean through.

Joe Garner provided a 90-minute demonstration of the attributes required to pull Forest clear of trouble, as he toiled tirelessly.

But too many of his team-mates failed to follow suit.

Forest rarely looked like matching one of the Championship's heavyweights.

From the moment the visitors took the lead – Brian Howard volleying inside the post from eight yards in the 31st minute after Forest had failed to clear a corner – they were happy to sit back and play on the counter-attack.

And Forest's response was never really anything more than the odd weak, tentative jab.

Lee Camp's impressive reactions had saved an early body blow, the keeper dropping acrobatically to his left to swat away a James Beattie header.

Garner than dropped a header narrowly wide of the post, leaving Paddy Kenny to scamper nervously across goal in an attempt to get a hand to it.

But Kenny was more composed after Chris Cohen had sent Robert Earnshaw racing clear with an incisive pass, the keeper sliding in at the striker's feet to make a vital save. Paul Anderson could only fire the rebound wildly over.

Forest should still have been level before half time after Anderson angled a superb pass through the United defence and sent Tyson racing through unmarked, but the pacy striker prodded wide.

Frustration was boiling over by the start of the second half, as the ever-more aggrieved Forest fans began to boo and jeer. The atmosphere only fuelled the sense of nervousness on the pitch.

Forest tried to find a gap in the United defence by pushing Tyson, who had started on the left wing, into a more advanced role and slotting Garner in on the left of midfield.

Then Calderwood made a double change, bringing Arron Davies and Matt Thornhill on in an effort to inspire some attacking creativity, with the out-of-sorts Earnshaw replaced, along with full-back Brendan Moloney.

But still chances were at a premium, Garner off target with a brave diving header and Tyson also having Kenny at full stretch with an improvised header the keeper palmed over.

But, by the time the final whistle brought an end to the contest, United had hardly been bloodied.

On Saturday, Forest face Blackpool at the City Ground in the first of five consecutive Championship outings against teams in the lower reaches of the table.

With the majority of results elsewhere going in their favour last night, the picture could change dramatically again.

But, if that is to happen, they need to prove this was just an off-day and that they do have both the punching power and the fighting spirit required to fight their way out of the corner they are in.