Mark Langdon: Taiwo Awoniyi's injury the biggest problem at Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest's decision to replace Steve Cooper with Nuno Espirito Santo does not jump out as a massive upgrade in the dugout but the manager was not the biggest problem at the City Ground.

Cooper has won only three Premier League games this term and with that record it is no great surprise to see him booted out, but the long-term injury to Taiwo Awoniyi has left things tricky for the Tricky Trees.

A total of six shots on target and one goal in the last four matches tells its own sorry story and Cooper was trying to chase the game against Tottenham on Friday with Chris Wood and Divock Origi as the unpalatable forward options off the bench. He had started with Morgan Gibbs-White in a position which does not suit him and where he was unable to show his best without a classy focal point to carry the forward line.

Brennan Johnson was sold to Spurs in the summer and Gibbs-White does not have the skillset to carry the attack on his own, so Awoniyi's absence was a brutal blow to Cooper and it's hard to see what Nuno can do that will be different. The Premier League is increasingly unforgiving, there is little evidence that Wood or Origi are the right standard of replacement for Awoniyi, and the depth of quality in England is one of the main reasons talk of a European Super League is unlikely to get off the ground.

It could be argued the Nigerian is one of the most influential players in the league and Forest's record with and without the striker highlights the issues facing new man Nuno, who had the luxury of managing Karim Benzema in his last job in Saudi Arabia. There's no Benzema to help at the City Ground.

Awoniyi started 19 matches last season and Forest won eight, drew four and lost seven of those fixtures with a healthy win percentage of 42 per cent. That dropped to 15 per cent in the games he missed and Awoniyi's ten goals were decisive in Forest remaining in the Premier League. 

Take those away, plus Johnson's eight strikes and there was always a danger Forest would once again be flirting with relegation having left it late to secure their survival last season.

Awoniyi has been missing for more than a month and remains Forest's top scorer this term. However, his influence on the side is even more profound than last season. He has failed to start ten games this term and the Tricky Trees' record reads no wins, three draws and seven defeats. It's a much healthier three wins and two draws from the eight games Awoniyi has started and that feels like more than just a coincidence.

Nuno's short and miserable stint at Spurs should not detract too much from his previous work at Wolves which is a more comparable job anyway to this new challenge, and he should make sure the team are well organised given his prowess at coaching a drilled defence.

The Portuguese has spoken about changing to become a more pro-active tactician, more in keeping with the modern game, but given the options available it is difficult to see where the goals will come from even if he decided to copy Kevin Keegan's gung-ho philosophy.

Only Sheffield United and Luton have had fewer shots on target in this season's Premier League and Anthony Elanga is the only Forest player to have attempted more than six efforts on goal, something that surely needs to be addressed in the January transfer window given that Awoniyi is not close to a return.

In terms of quality, there's not much difference between Cooper and Nuno, but the manager isn't the problem.

Premier League predictions

Matheus Cunha to have a shot on target 8-11

The Wolves forward has had a shot on target in eight of his last nine games and ten attempts on goal in his last five which suggests he can test Chelsea.

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