Nottingham Forest are back on the search for a manager having announced the departure of Chris Hughton.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City man had been walking a narrow plank at the City Ground having lost six of the Reds' seven Championship matches this season.
And it proved to be that a 2-0 home defeat to Middlesbrough had left Hughton in an untenable position with the Reds enduring their worst start to a season for more than 100 years.
NottinghamshireLive has taken a look at who could possibly fill the now vacant hot-seat on the banks of the Trent.
Alex Neil
Most recently manager of Preston North End, Neil has been without a job since he left the Lilywhites back in March 2021.
The cause of his demise was a run of one win in nine Championship matches, but he is a man who knows what is needed to achieve promotion.
Neil's CV includes appointments with Hamilton as well as Norwich City and it was with both teams that he managed to win promotion to the Scottish and English top-flights.
He was seen in the Director's Box at Nottingham Forest for the 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.
Michael Appleton
A rather unlikely move given he signed a new four-year deal with Lincoln City in February 2021, but the success Michael Appleton has found up the round at Sincil Bank speaks volumes.
Under Appleton's tenure the Imps reached the League One play-off final last season, eventually losing to Blackpool at Wembley Stadium.
The 45-year-old does, however, match the philosophy as declared by Reds CEO Dane Murphy.
Brennan Johnson thrived under Appleton in League One last season as did Morgan Rogers - who is now on-loan from Manchester City with early promotion contenders Bournemouth.
It would likely cost Forest a fair sum in compensation fees to draw Appleton away from his existing position.
Steve Cooper
Cooper rose to prominence with Swansea City during a two-year tenure in South Wales, taking the Swans to a play-off semi-final and final whilst across the border.
The 41-year-old remains relatively inexperienced with the gig at the Liberty Stadium his only venture into senior football management.
But he has shown an ability to nurture young talent having held positions with the youth teams at Wrexham and Liverpool, as well as coaching the England Under-16 and Under-17 sides.
It was with England U17s that he achieved World Cup success with a team including Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
He is already on Forest's radar according to The Athletic.
Eddie Howe
Since his departure from Bournemouth in August 2020, Howe has kept a relatively low profile.
His achievements with the Cherries both as a player and as manager have firmly given him legend status at Bournemouth, but he was unable to stop them from sliding out of the Premier League into the Championship.
Given his success under tight constraints at Bournemouth - he had to work under transfer embargoes as well as fight back from points deductions - he seems a good fit to work at Forest.
Most recently, Howe rejected a job offer from Celtic following a breakdown in negotiations.
Chris Wilder
Another big name searching for a new job is that of Chris Wilder.
The popular Yorkshireman has been reported by the national media as having an interest in the job long before Hughton received the axe.
Aged 53, the former Notts County defender has achieved success at most of the clubs he has been at.
Starting with Alfreton Town as a wet behind the ears manager, Wilder picked up four trophies in 27 weeks whilst with the non-league outfit.
A brief spell at Halifax Town followed with no success, but he narrowly missed out on a play-off finish with his first season at Oxford United before going up via the play-offs the following year.
With Northampton Town during the 2013/14 season Wilder successfully fought against relegation to the Conference; at Sheffield United he took the Blades from being bottom of League One with one point from four matches to promotion as champions with 100 points, a club record.
He achieved promotion to the Premier League with his boyhood club and recorded a ninth-place finish on their return to the top-flight.
Frank Lampard
Nine months on from his Chelsea exit and Lampard is still without a new job in football.
The former Blues midfielder had managed the London club for almost two years before his exit in January 2021 and achieved relative success in the capital.
His first full season saw him guide Chelsea to fourth in the Premier League as well as reach the FA Cup Final, which they lost to Arsenal.
The following year saw his eventual dismissal following disagreements over transfer policy.
Before taking the role at Chelsea, Lampard had enjoyed time up the A52 with Derby County.
Whilst at Pride Park, he navigated the Rams to the play-offs but was unable to achieve promotion as Aston Villa defeat Derby in the final at Wembley.
He would be following in the footsteps of Peter Taylor, Brian Clough, Billy Davies and Steve McClaren in managing teams on either side of the Forest-Derby divide if he was to take the City Ground hot-seat.
Gerhard Struber
One of Dane Murphy's appointments at Barnsley was to bring Struber across from Austrian side Wolfsberger to Barnsley.
The 44-year-old joined the Tykes having taken Wolfsberger to a third-place finish in the Austrian top division, earning them a place in the Europa League.
Struber has also previously coached at Red Bull Salzburg.
On Struber's appointment, Murphy said at the time: "Gerhard is a young coaching talent that any side would be pleased to have.
"The club had pursued him in the past as his tactical approach and track record of developing burgeoning talent appeals to the core philosophies at Barnsley FC."
He is currently coaching New York Red Bulls in the American MLS.
John Terry
Former England and Chelsea legend John Terry is open to a managerial job but that may not be with Nottingham Forest.
Terry had been linked, alongside Wilder, as making a move for the Forest job as and when Hughton was sacked.
Earlier in the week, however, Terry shared a message on his Instagram distancing himself from the position saying that he was good friends with Hughton and had plenty of respect for the now ex-Reds boss.
Unlike his former Chelsea team-mate Frank Lampard, who has had management time at Derby County and Chelsea, Terry lacks experience as being the number one boss at a club; he was assistant to Dean Smith at Aston Villa up until July 2021.
