Sean Dyche was nominated for January's Manager of the Month yet the Nottingham Forest boss faces uncertainty over his future.

Forest are assessing their options ahead of Wednesday's visit of bottom club Wolves and any change - however reluctant - would see a fourth manager at the City Ground this season.

West Ham's revival under Nuno Espirito Santo - who was sacked by Forest in September - has increased the pressure, with Forest's lead over the bottom three slowly eroding.

The third-bottom Hammers' 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Tuesday edged them to within two points of 17th-placed Forest.

The irony would not be lost if Nuno relegated Forest following the falling out with global sporting director Edu and owner Evangelos Marinakis which led to his departure.

A season which promised so much - after a shock return to Europe for the first time in 30 years - has turned into one where relegation is a realistic possibility.

It had felt relatively calm at the City Ground until recently, but after the chaos at the start of the season, Nuno's exit and Ange Postecoglou's 39-day reign, anything would have been serene.

Forest have never been out of danger but there was at least a sense of stability for a time after Dyche won seven of his first 12 games.

They included a 3-0 win at Liverpool and the 3-0 demolition of Tottenham before Christmas, two of Forest's best Premier League displays.

However, since beating Spurs they have won two of their last nine top flight games - albeit one was the crucial 2-1 victory at West Ham last month.

That put them seven points clear but it would have been wiped out had the Hammers not conceded Benjamin Sesko's injury-time leveller at London Stadium.

A five-point lead will be opened up with victory over Wolves and would give Dyche, who took Burnley to Europe in 2017-18 after finishing seventh, further defence against his critics.

It would also give Forest 11 points from the last 18 - hardly a crisis.

From 26 October, when Forest lost 2-0 at Bournemouth in Dyche's first league game in charge, they have won six, drawn three and lost eight.

Forest have taken just a point less than Leeds - after their 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Tuesday - since Dyche took charge and one more than West Ham, having played a game less.

If results were taken from when Dyche took over, Forest would be mid-table, six points above third bottom Tottenham and just three behind Liverpool so he is fulfilling the brief, having inherited a unenviable situation.

So why, if the facts suggest a generally positive trend, is the mood turning?

Following the loss to Wrexham, Dyche questioned his players - asking them to look in the mirror, external - and he is yet to get a fully consistent tune out of an expensively assembled group.

Some of Dyche's critics on the terraces have labelled him 'Dycheosaurus' with supporters losing faith in him and his tactics as the bond he initially had - having come through the Forest academy - wanes.

One seasoned observer commented the eyes told a different story than the facts, with defeats to Braga, Fulham, Everton - twice - Leeds and the FA Cup exit to Wrexham testing fan patience.

However, supporter frustrations are a symptom of a wider problem, opposite number Rob Edwards believes. The Wolves manager has defended Dyche.

"There are not that many sets of supporters that are happy at the moment," he said. "There's a lot of anger around.

"I think now you've got to win consistently and play well consistently to avoid any sort of criticism.

"It's really hard to maintain that [challenge at the top] because the big, big, big clubs will always be there and then a couple almost threaten it and can't quite maintain it because they get picked off for some of the best players.

"Then it's like: 'why aren't you fifth and challenging for Europe?' It's an impossible task to keep everyone happy. I think he's [Dyche] a brilliant manager and he's having an amazing career. "