IN football management, the line between success and failure is wafer thin. At 3.45pm on Saturday afternoon, Steve Cotterill's world was collapsing around him. An insipid first half display against relegation rivals Coventry City had led to his team being booed off the pitch by 20,000 angry fans and, with Doncaster winning against Leeds, Nottingham Forest were facing the prospect of slipping to the foot of the Championship table.

The mood could hardly have been more dark for the manager, who also had to listen to the first chants for his head from the stands, as he watched the most nervous 45 minutes of football of the season so far.

Yet, by 5pm, everything in the garden was rosy once more.

A double substitution at half-time inspired a much-improved performance and, sparked by a wonder goal from Garath McCleary, Forest not only edged their way to what ultimately proved to be a comfortable victory, but also managed to climb out of the bottom three altogether.

And, rather than jeers, Forest left the City Ground pitch at the final whistle to the sound of a relieved ovation from their fans.

A first home win since November, the first clean-sheet since mid-December and, for just the second time in 14 matches, Forest even managed to score more than one goal in the space of 90 minutes.

It made you wonder just what all the fuss had been about.

But this victory had been coming on the horizon for weeks; it was a culmination of a recent improvement in form that had been sparked by the manager being allowed to make crucial additions to his squad.

Against Watford, Middlesbrough and Coventry, Forest possessed some of the simple qualities that provide the foundations for any successful side – they were solid, well organised and hard to break down.

In that mundane first half, it was hard to find much else to praise Forest for, as the increasing frustration that was transmitted from the stands led to an increasingly nervy response from the players.

The editors putting together the package for the television highlights on Saturday evening must have had a tough time finding even a handful of moments to showcase from that first period, in which neither side managed to lift themselves beyond a scrappy, insipid and decidedly ugly and uninspiring battle.

It was easy to see why Coventry had gone 17 matches without registering an away win; why they had collected only three points on their travels this season.

They were a side lacking cutting edge and confidence.

And, while the same could be said of Forest, the introduction of Dexter Blackstock and Robbie Findley at half-time transformed the outlook.

Blackstock sent a header bouncing against the foot of the post after beating Joe Murphy to a high ball on the edge of the six yard box.

And Andy Reid forced an outstanding save from the keeper – although he may not have known much about it – who blocked with his chest after the Irishman had connected with a prodded, close range effort.

When McCleary picked up possession in his own half, there seemed to be little evidence of danger.

But, while the winger simply kept running, the Coventry defence backed off.

With Gary McSheffrey making a half-hearted effort to keep up with the Forest man, McCleary did not even face a challenge until he reached the edge of the opposition area, where he simply jinked between two players and let fly with a crisp left-foot shot that found the bottom corner.

The sense of relief around the stadium was palpable. But the mood did not change completely until Findley had fired Forest's second.

Cotterill, in fact, suffered another barrage of abuse from the stands when he withdrew McCleary – who was carrying a slight hamstring injury that had almost ruled him out of the game completely – and replaced him with Jonathan Greening.

The former Fulham man quickly won the crowd's favour with a thundering, crunching challenge on Gary Deegan and, in the 12 minutes he was on the pitch, Greening generally personified the determination, work rate and grit that had provided the foundations for the win.

But it was two moments of impressive guile and poise that ultimately provided Forest with the safety net they craved.

Reid, again Forest's most creative influence, sent an outstanding, precision 40-yard pass down the centre of the pitch, perfectly into the path of Findley and the striker, who had looked like a man suffering a crisis of confidence, following missed chances against Leicester and Watford, controlled with his chest before rolling a simple finish beyond the advancing Murphy.

Come the final whistle, the significance of the result was demonstrated as well by the reaction of the Coventry players, as it was those in red, as they fell to the floor in abject despair.

Afterwards, skipper Luke Chambers called for fans to be more positive in their backing, warning that their negativity had been reflected on the pitch during that stuttering first half.

But the reverse was also true, as the manner in which Forest, galvanised by the substitutions, burst out of the blocks in the second half and inspired a more positive reaction from the crowd.

Next weekend, the task does not get any easier for Cotterill's side, as they make the short trip across the Midlands to face a Birmingham side that retain rather loftier ambitions.

By earning a replay against Chelsea in the FA Cup, Chris Hughton's side have proved they are capable of going toe-to-toe with the best in the country.

They are also the only side in the Championship who are unbeaten on home turf.

But, having put an end to so many unwanted records of their own on Saturday, who could predict that Forest cannot go to St Andrews on Saturday and bring a halt to another?

The events of last weekend will have given Forest hope, as well as confidence.

But, ultimately, their fate will not be decided by one game, but by what happens through the course of their remaining 15 fixtures.

On Saturday, Cotterill could hardly have been through a wider range of highs and lows, in the space of 90 minutes.

But one thing is certain. Over the next few months, there are likely to be plenty more of both to come.

What Forest have to hope is that, by the time Cotterill's former club Portsmouth visit the City Ground on the final day of the season, the crowd have had more reason to cheer than jeer.