Nottingham Forest 0-0 Wolves: Toothless hosts held by doomed strugglers but Evangelos Marinakis should point finger at his players, NOT Sean Dyche, as he mulls over sacking a THIRD manager this season

Whether they stay up or go down, there is growing sense that Nottingham Forest 's Champions League near-miss last season was the worst thing that could have happened to them.

Forest had a brilliant campaign under Nuno Espirito Santo but fell just short of qualifying for Europe’s main club competition. Believing they would kick on again this season, Forest then spent more than Bayern Munich , Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain last summer - and delivered not a single first-team regular to the coaching team.

This uninspiring draw with all-but-relegated Wolves restored Forest’s three-point gap to the relegation zone. Whether it will be enough to save boss Sean Dyche is another matter. Morgan Gibbs-White , Lorenzo Lucca, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morato all missed very good chances and Forest registered 35 shots. None was spared the boos of the home supporters at full-time.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis’ displayed his frustration at times and it now feels there is an increasing chance Forest will be looking for a fourth coach of the season in the coming days.

Much has been said about Forest's decision-making off the pitch but until now the players who took them so close last season have largely avoided scrutiny. That should be the case no longer.

If Dyche follows Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou out of the door, the senior players are at least partly to blame. When they were at the top end of the league last season, did these footballers start to believe they were better than they are?

Evangelos Marinakis is considering sacking Sean Dyche - but he shouldn't pull the trigger on a third manager this season

He cut a frustrated figure as Nottingham Forest laboured to a 0-0 draw with Wolves at home

Dyche is known as a survival expert but Forest are just three points above the relegation zone

There were many stars for Forest last term but none shone brighter than goalkeeper Matz Sels or centre-forward Chris Wood, who had the seasons of their lives. Both are now out injured and without them, Forest look less than half as strong.

Courted by Manchester City last spring and then Tottenham last summer, Gibbs-White signed a new contract that will make him a very rich man. His form has not justified the wealth handed to him. Only Elliot Anderson’s levels have remained high and he will be rewarded with his move to a Champions League club in the summer. Before then, he and his colleagues must ensure Forest do not join Wolves in the Championship.

In the opening minutes, Dyche asked Ola Aina and Omari Hutchinson to knock the ball long, only for both to play short passes.

Though Forest’s football was stilted, they were creating chances. The Anderson-Gibbs-White axis remains this team’s main creative forces and in the 14th minute, Gibbs-White should at least have headed Anderson’s excellent cross on target.

The home crowd groaned when Lucca – all 6ft 7ins of him – somehow failed to connect with Hutchinson’s tempting cross. His next contribution was much worse, however.

As an attack broke down, Wolves’ defence had pushed too high and they lost their shape completely, allowing Forest to send five players racing unchallenged into their half.

A goal seemed inevitable. Somehow, though, Lucca thundered Callum Hudson-Odoi’s low cross into the away end, even though he was unchallenged 12 yards out. Hudson-Odoi smiled in disbelief and from his seat in the Peter Taylor Stand, Marinakis could not disguise his anger.

There was more frustration for Forest when Lucca failed to connect with Gibbs-White’s near post cross and they were nearly punished a minute before half-time. Wolves centre-back Santi Bueno delivered from the right and though Tolu Arokodare climbed impressively, he could not direct his header on target.

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In the closing seconds, Anderson and Gibbs-White combined again. Gibbs-White’s crossfield pass was controlled well by Hudson-Odoi on the angle, a position from which he is usually so threatening. This time, he produced a pea-roller that Jose Sa collected with ease. No wonder there was a smattering of boos as they left the field at half-time.

In their disjointed fashion, Forest still managed to create chances. Morato headed wide and then after a loose Wolves pass, Gibbs-White charged the length of the field and teed up Hudson-Odoi for another weak finish. At the other end, Wolves' young star Mateus Mane swapped passes with Angel Gomes and forced Stefan Ortega to concede a corner.

Forest continued to push but the ball would not go in. When Neco Williams’ turned Hutchinson’s cross back into the danger zone, Morato bundled it goalwards only for Sa somehow to claw it away, and it could have become even worse for Forest had Mane managed to beat Ortega in stoppage time.