TODAY, at just before 3pm, the sound of applause will reverberate around the City Ground.

For one minute, the fans, players and staff of Nottingham Forest will unite to pay a heartfelt tribute to owner Nigel Doughty.

It is likely to be a poignant, painful moment for everyone connected to the club; a moment to reflect on a remarkable man whose legacy will live on for many years.

The sense of unity that Doughty's death has inspired will linger on for far longer than just 60 seconds.

And manager Steve Cotterill is hoping that, through the sense of loss and upset, it can galvanise something else.

Doughty's dream was always to see Forest earn a return to the Premier League. The fact he did not live to see that happen is a huge injustice, when you consider the scale of his backing.

An investment of £100m over 13 years should have been enough to make it happen.

But, in the short-term, the club's goal remains rather more modest, but no less crucial, as they look to avoid the drop back into League One.

"The whole club has to come together, I have spoken about that before," said Cotterill.

"Maybe the events of the past week might steel everyone a little bit.

"Hopefully it will galvanise things. Maybe it will.

"It has brought the fans together and they are the soul of the club.

"They want to come and see their team do well. If they see the players give 100 per cent effort – when we have been beaten and the players have given their all – they get clapped off the pitch.

"They want their players to be committed. They want to see good football, but they also want to see commitment.

"In that respect, they are no different to me.

"But we have to try to channel our positive thoughts in a collective way, for Nottingham Forest.

"That is what Nigel would want. We have to make sure our emotions are channelled in the right way."

Cotterill admits he regrets not having the chance to work under Doughty, when he was still chairman of the club.

"My main memories of him are of him being a gentleman. That is the first thing that springs to mind," he said.

"He was passionate about this club. He wanted them to get in the Premier League, hence his investment of close to £100m.

"I am sorry that did not happen in his lifetime. That would have made him a very, very happy man.

"The last couple of years had been difficult for him at the club. But he was absolutely a top, top man.

"I will miss him, as a gentleman. But Nigel's financial backing would also have made the job so much easier for me when we went through all the injuries and suspensions.

"I was not lucky enough to have that. But that pales into insignificance when you are talking about a man's life.

"He will be sadly missed in and around the club and obviously to his family and the football world in general."

Despite Doughty's decision to step down, immediately before Cotterill's appointment, following the failed tenure of Steve McClaren, the current Reds boss did get to know him.

"Despite his finances, he was never too big to talk to you. He always had time for people," said Cotterill.

"I remember going to a Labour party event with Alastair Campbell, at Wembley.

"Nigel was at that and I had a chat with him. He was just a real, real gentleman and he will be sadly missed.

"There will be a lot of managers out there who will be envious of the managers who have had the chance to work under him.

"Not just for his financial support, but for his support behind the scenes. The reason we have the nice building at the training ground is because he paid for it.

"We have a fantastic training facility now. That is down to him and not too many people will see that.

"If we go back a week, when I got the phone call last Saturday, I was totally stunned. I answered the phone in my office and, when Frank (Clark) told me, I slumped down in my chair. I could not believe it.

"Maybe the weather was a blessing, because I am not sure what we would have got last weekend. It could have gone one way or the other.

"When the emotions are high, you are never sure what you are going to get.

"We had all met and we were ready for the game (against Derby), but it was better that it wasn't on."

Today, it is Watford who arrive at the City Ground looking to deny Forest the win they so desperately crave.

But they will face a Forest side that has been boosted by the addition of three new defensive loan signings, in the form of George Elokobi from Wolves in the past 48 hours, and, prior to that, Stoke's Danny Higginbotham and Scott Wootton of Manchester United.

And Cotterill admits he is delighted to have been able to address Forest's defensive fragility, when it came to their strength in depth.

"Now, hopefully, I have been able to do something about the position we are in, during the window," he said.

"There are a couple of other positions I would like to strengthen. But they have to be better than what we've got.

"It has been crucial since the moment I walked through the door. I never expected that things would change overnight.

"I think the squad has needed to be rotated over the last two or three years.

"I think there needs to be a freshness to the squad every year. You need to change things.

"I think it could have and should have been freshened over the last few years.

"The league is getting better so, eventually, you drop. If you then lose a few important players, as we did at the end of last season, you can drop very quickly.

"Hence what has happened."

One of Cotterill's biggest concerns in recent months, particularly when Wes Morgan was injured and Luke Chambers suspended, was the lack of strong headers in his side.

"I hope it is something we have addressed," said Cotterill. "It is one of the many categories we needed to look at.

"There were headers, runners, dribblers, ball-winners, sprinters, leaders, goal scorers . . .

"I hope we have made the team stronger (with these signings).

"But, all of a sudden, there are three or four players chucked straight in and we are hoping a little bit, with that.

"We hope things fall into place quickly. They seem to have a good spirit about them.

"Also, the others players in the squad, who have been in the team, they are not out of things. It is a squad game.

"And, if somebody is not on the bench or not involved, it does not mean they are out of things.

"We need to be united."