Nottingham Forest have their sights set on promotion and Aitor Karanka has the club three points outside the Championship play-off places at the halfway point of the season.
But despite that, the Daily Mail report that the Spaniard’s future at the City Ground is under threat; owing to recent poor form and reported fallouts with players in the squad.
So with Forest in the promotion shakeup after years of being far away from the upper echelons, why is Karanka’s job security a concern?
Forest have invested heavily in pursuit of promotion, loosely following the Wolves model from last season; but Karanka has not been able to forge a similarly successful or harmonious squad.
That owes something to Karanka’s scattergun transfer approach, which was part of his undoing at Middlesbrough, especially once they were promoted to the Premier League.
Also, sacrificing a three-goal lead against league leaders Norwich yesterday hints at a side that does not have the underbelly needed to sustain a promotion push; as well as flying in the face of Karanka’s reputation as a manager who prides himself on his sides being very hard to beat.
That 5-5 draw against Aston Villa was another example, and ultimately, this Forest side is not in Karanka’s image yet or as close to the top of the tree as the board may have hoped for going into the festive season.
Given the size of Karanka’s personality and how paramount promotion is, that’s why a change is being considered.