It was on a cold October morning at Nottingham Forest’s training ground when the first real signs of turbulence surfaced over Aitor Karanka’s future as manager.

A pre-scheduled visit from Evangelos Marinakis, the club’s Greek owner, included a meeting with Karanka and his players, in which a stark message was relayed. That message was effectively “promotion or nothing,” according to defender Jack Robinson after the 1-1 draw at Leeds.

It was probably not an ultimatum, but after a mammoth recruitment drive over the summer, with 17 players signed and £23 million spent, Marinakis was unhappy with Forest’s start and spelled it out that a dramatic improvement was required.

Since that meeting, Karanka has won only four Championship games – taking the total to nine victories from 26 – so perhaps his departure is not the surprise many people outside of Nottingham will probably conclude.

There are other statistics, too, which explain why Forest are now searching for their ninth permanent manager in six years. They are only seven points better off than this stage last season, despite such a drastic revamp of the squad which included the record £13.2m signing of Portuguese midfielder Joao Carvalho.