We'll keep getting nowt unless we change our away approach

Forest are not going to be making much progress this season if they can't sort their awful away form out. If we reach January having won only once in a year on our travels that really will be a shocking statistic.

Not that losing at Portsmouth, who have been in fine form of late, despite their recent off-field troubles, is a disgrace, but Forest really outplayed them at times, but once again came away empty-handed because they just couldn't make the most of their possession. As has been a familiar tale this season, Forest started very brightly but found themselves behind after 17 minutes when Ibrahima Sonko headed past Lee Camp from a corner. But Forest were level only ten minutes later thanks to Paul Anderson who got himself on the scoresheet for the first time this season when he powered a diving header into the net from a Lewis McGugan cross.

Forest paid the price for a poor start to the second half when Liam Lawrence turned goal-provider into goal-scorer when he restored his side's lead just after the hour, following a sustained period of Portsmouth pressure. Forest continued to exert their influence as they sought an equaliser, but their final ball eluded them. They might have played well enough, but it was Portsmouth, who little over a week ago feared they were going out of business, who got the all-important goals, and Forest only had themselves to blame.

McGugan's worth his weight in goals

Yesterday's 2-0 win over Ipswich will be remembered for one of the most astonishing goals ever seen at the City Ground. And who else but Lewis McGugan would be the man responsible for it?!

People around me were gasping when the ball crashed into the back of the net from 35 yards out. I wasn't even sure if it was an in-direct free kick or not as it was so far out. But McGugan seems to do no wrong at the moment, and this was his seventh goal in eight games – an excellent tally for a striker, let alone a midfielder. And it's not as if any of those goals have been tap-ins. All of them have been worthy of being nominated for Goal of the Month. In fact it will take something very special to beat yesterday's exquisite strike in the Goal of the Season competition. Not that I expect McGugan to win it, being a Championship footballer rather than a Premiership one.

But I wonder how long it will be before McGugan is plying his trade in the top flight. It's almost inevitable that he will attract a lot of attention when the January transfer window opens, and I'm not sure if Forest will be able to stand in his way if a big Premiership club comes knocking. But all these goals he's scored has made him a more valuable asset, and if we let him go for £5 or £6 million, we can buy a couple of very good Championship players with that. I'd sooner keep McGugan, though, because he is making watching Forest quite exciting at the moment. You just never know when he is going to pop up with a brilliant goal, but we have come to expect it every match now!

While McGugan not surprisingly got all the plaudits for his goal, we must not forget the fact that it was David McGoldrick who set us on the way to victory in the 13th minute with his first goal of the season on what was also his first start. He was named in the starting line-up by Billy Davies as Dexter Blackstock, who has been through a bit of a lean spell of late, was rested.

Forest didn't exactly look comfortable defending at the back as Ipswich posed a lot of problems for them, so they were very grateful for McGugan's unexpected goal just before half time, and although Ipswich did their best to break Forest's defence down, they just could not find a way through, and so the Reds were able to claim their second successive clean sheet in a week and more importantly back-to-back home wins, which takes them into the top half of the table.

It has been a very positive few days for Forest both on and off the pitch. Nigel Doughty's announcement on Friday that he would be making changes to the Acquisition Panel's transfer policy, thus making it easier for Davies to sign players, is a welcome one. But we will still have to wait over two months before we can make any permanent signings, so in the meantime we will have to make do with what we've got, but judging by recent results and the rediscovery of McGugan, we seem to be doing just fine for the moment.

Reds might have to be content feeding off scraps

People should be forgiven for thinking that Forest are a one-man team, such has been Lewis McGugan's recent influence. McGugan has made himself undroppable from the first team as he has contributed six goals to Forest's cause so far this season, and was once again the hero last night as his shot-cum-cross from a free kick early in the second half proved to be enough to beat managerless Middlesbrough.

The stunning strike, whether it was a fluke or not, was a rare exciting moment in a game which in the first half had really threatened to descend into a damp squib. The first 40 minutes or so were dire to put it mildly. I was bored to tears as Forest struggled to find a way through a dogged Middlesbrough midfield. The three-man central midfield combination of McGugan, Paul McKenna, and Raddy Majewski, who was handed a rare start by stand-in boss Ned Kelly, wasn't really working, and with Dexter Blackstock once again deployed in a lone striker's role, Forest were resorting to desperate long-balls. Middlesbrough, meanwhile, were having more luck at the other end and could have been one or two goals up at half time, were it not for the safe pair of hands of Lee Camp.

Thankfully the second half was a much better spectacle, and when McGugan scored five minutes in, it settled Forest and they were able to hold on to the three points for only their third win of the season. I get the feeling that victories are going to be hard to come by this season, and we're going to have to be grateful for whatever scraps we can get our hands on.

The only way is down if Forest can't find their killer touch

I am getting so fed up of writing about Forest not making the most of their chances and ending up losing points. It's happened on numerous occasions this season, and we should have done enough to win the game at Barnsley, but instead walked away empty-handed.

Billy Davies missed the game because he was suffering from a virus so assistant Ned Kelly took charge in the dugout. I don't know how much influence Davies had on the team's selection, but it was a strange one, and not exactly set up with a win in mind. After scoring a hat-trick in the reserves, maybe the inclusion of Dele Adebola in the starting line-up was justified, but why put Lewis McGugan on the wing? That made no sense at all.

Forest found themselves chasing the game after only four minutes when Nathan Doyle put Barnsley ahead from a few yards out. But Forest had plenty of chances in the first half to equalise, but the final ball was once again found wanting. The Reds' hopes of getting back in the game were dealt a hammer blow when Barnsley were awarded a penalty just before the hour mark, and former Forest player Andy Gray scored from the spot. But little over ten minutes later, another excellent goal from McGugan reduced the deficit to just one goal again and with Forest playing well Barnsley had every right to be nervous.

Unfortunately for Forest, though, thoughts of a late comeback were banished when substitute Jay Butterfield made it 3-1 with only three minutes remaining. The decision to change to a 4-3-3 formation which saw Wes Morgan bizarrely pushed forward was to prove a costly one. Had Forest stayed as they were, they might well have snatched a late point. As it was they were left to rue a sackful of missed chances and ponder on their first defeat in ten games. Now they have two home games coming up against Middlesbrough and Ipswich. We've got to be looking at a minimum of four points from those. If our home form starts to deteriorate as well, I really fear we will get sucked into a relegation scrap.

Floundering Forest are crying out for creativity

Forest headed into the international break nine games unbeaten after being held to yet another draw, this time at Doncaster Rovers. It was our seventh such result in ten games, which underlines the fact that we really could do with some more creative players to help convert some of these draws into wins.

Dexter Blackstock became the first Forest player to score at the Keepmoat Stadium in four attempts, netting his fourth goal of the season when he put the ball over the line following a goal mouth scramble. Unfortunately the lead lasted all of four minutes as Forest switched off defensively and allowed Adam Lockwood to head an equaliser unmarked at the far post following a free kick.

It was a rather dull game that never really got going until the final ten minutes when both teams upped the tempo. Donny could have snatched all three points in the dying moments, but thankfully Billy Sharp's effort went wide. Forest were once again left counting the cost of their inability to turn possession into meaningful chances. Nevertheless a point at Doncaster is not to be sniffed at, and we must be doing something right if we are unbeaten since the opening day. But it would be nice if we could actually start winning games more regularly. I get the feeling that this season is going to be largely frustrating. Boring boring Forest is what everyone will be singing soon.