Middlesbrough boss Tony Pullis says injuries cost his side at the City Ground as Nottingham Forest cruised to a convincing victory.
Boro's recent slide has seen them fall from what looked like a certain play-off place to being play-off outsiders.
Six defeats on the spin had Pulis' side dropping like a stone in the race for promotion before three consecutive wins helped his side get back on track.
But goals from Joe Lolley and Alexander Milosevic sent Forest on their way to their first win in four games and Pulis, now under immense pressure at the Riverside, has pointed the finger at his side's current injury crisis.
“We’re moving people around, and we’re having to try to put square pegs into round holes,” admitted Pulis.
“It really caught us out today. We had a similar situation last week, but at home, maybe we can get away with it.
“But when you come to a place like this, you’ve got to be really solid.
We’ve had to take players out of the team, and put in other players who aren’t able to do what they really want to.
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“It was a disappointing display, but I think you’ve got to look at the injuries.
"Coming here with (Daniel) Ayala, (George) Friend and (Dael) Fry in your team, you’re going to be a lot more solid and together.”
