It has not been the best of months for Nottingham Forest and their hopes of surviving as a Premier League club.
Three fixtures, one point and two defeats in March - part of a six-game run since their last Premier League victory - has left the ailing Reds just two points outside of the bottom three.
The upturn in Forest’s fortunes from the turn of the year, when they held Chelsea and beat Southampton and Leicester before snatching another point at Bournemouth, has largely evaporated as injuries have taken their toll on Steve Cooper ’s squad.
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They are now amongst the bookies’ favourites to go down come May, just a season after ending a 23-year exile from the top flight.
Hard to believe, but it is not all doom and gloom Trentside. After all, injured players eventually return, and Forest have shown they have plenty of fight by beating Liverpool at headquarters and drawing with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea. There is hope.
But for that to be realised, Cooper will need his star men to keep firing, and three of them have been nominated as our Forest player of the month for March - Brennan Johnson, Felipe and Ryan Yates. Now is your chance to vote for your winner.
It is hard to believe that Johnson was on loan at League One Lincoln only the season before last. He passed that test, then proved himself as a Championship player and is now arguably Forest’s best and brightest as they work hard to adjust to life as a Premier League club.
Johnson certainly has. His seven top-flight goals in 27 games have been a lifeline for the Reds, and Cooper and his backroom team will be praying the 21-year-old continues to avoid serious injury as the season reaches a nail-biting climax, especially with a crucial home game against Wolves coming up on April 1.
Felipe was a deadline-day recruit from Atletico Madrid as Forest looked to strengthen their squad in January.
The Brazilian arrived with plenty of experience of European football from his time in Spain and with Porto in Portugal, but it was unclear how he would adjust to the unique pressures of the English top flight.
Fate took a hand when both Forest centre-halves on duty at Fulham on February 11 - Scott McKenna and Willy Boly - were injured at the same time, just seven minutes into the game. Both had to leave the field. The 33-year-old Felipe was one of the replacements, and has kept his place ever since.
There have been highs, such as the 1-1 draw with champions City, Erling Haaland and all, and lows like the heavy defeats in London at West Ham and Spurs, but Felipe has been a solid presence throughout.
It is perhaps a measure of Forest’s woes in March that Ryan Yates even gets a mention here. Always a firm fans’ favourite, the home-grown midfielder only started one game this month, but was one of Forest's most influential performers.
The academy graduate had been out since January with illness when he returned against Everton, coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes to help set up an equaliser for Johnson.
He was also a sub at Spurs and then played the full game against Newcastle, when the Reds were denied another point by a stoppage time penalty, but the 25-year-old offered fans the consolation of an immediate reminder of his energy and quality in midfield.
Now it is time for you to vote for your Forest player of the month for March using our special widget above. You have three choices from the players nominated by our Reds writers, and we will report back with news of the winner once voting closes at the end of the month.
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