The climb begins.
Forest lost two of their first 20 games, but started the season well with Aitor Karanka in charge. One year and three days after his appointment, he was gone, having been asked to be released from his contract.
The Forest legend who was part of the squad that dominated English and European football in the late 1970s was brought in to replace him in an attempt to save the season.
A run of four straight defeats in April killed their chances of reaching the top six and they finished eight points off the pace. When they won their last four, there wasn't much to celebrate.
There was a change of management less than a fortnight before the first pre-season friendly. The fairy tale return to the club ended with no fanfare after five months, as O'Neill lost the dressing room at the City Ground.
The next man tasked with restoring pride and success at the City Ground was a relative unknown in England, but he started well, losing just one of his first 11 games and taking Forest into the play-off places.
Had it not been for the fact that they drew 11 of their 23 games away from home, they might not have made the play-offs.
The team went into the final round of games firmly in the driver's seat as their opponents tried to get into the top six. As long as there wasn't a big swing withSwansea, the Reds could afford to lose. That is what happened.
Danny Batth put the Potters in front after 19 minutes but Forest came back with a goal by Figueiredo just after the hour.
Goals from James McClean, Lee Gregory, and an own goal by Joia Nuno Da Costa saw Forest slump to a 4-1 defeat whileSwansea won by the same score at Reading.
The silver lining? The fact that Lamouchi had become the first Forest manager in almost a decade to complete a full season, despite the heartbreaking loss.
The nature of how the season ended made it inevitable that there would be some kind of hangover. After four straight defeats, there had to be a change to stop the rot.
"I don't know why we play only when we need a reaction and not from minute one", said Lamouchi after the 2-1 loss at home to Bristol City on October 3.
This is a problem. This is not a friendly game. We are where we are after four games of the league. We need to wake up. We have to take responsibility. The manager has more responsibility than anyone else.
Chris Hughton was named as the Frenchman's successor three days later. His appointment was a sensible one, as he had achieved promotion with both Newcastle andBrighton within the previous decade.
The football was not always pretty, but it was effective enough for a 17th place finish, even though they never once climbed out of the bottom half.
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