Nottingham Forest's poor run of form in the Championship continued last night as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Norwich City.

Having failed to win any of their last four league games in the second-tier, the Reds would have been hoping to get back on track by producing a positive display against the Canaries.

However, a disastrous start to the clash at the City Ground by Forest resulted in Norwich scoring twice in thirteen minutes as Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell netted for the visitors.

With chances hard to come by due to the fact that the Canaries had 66% possession during the clash, the Reds only managed to record one shot on target yesterday as they slipped below Huddersfield Town in the Championship standings.

Although Forest are currently nine points clear of the relegation zone, they cannot afford to continue to drop points as strugglers Rotherham United have four games in hand.

One of the players who was forced to watch on from the sidelines last night was Michael Dawson who has failed to make an appearance for the Reds this season.

Left out of Forest's match-day squad for the last 18 league games, the 37-year-old defender's existing deal at the club is set to expire in June and he has yet agree fresh terms.

Making reference to Dawson's absence, Reds manager Chris Hughton has suggested that although the club have better options at centre-back, he would be willing to call upon his services between now and the end of the season if required.

Speaking to the Nottingham Post about Dawson, the Forest boss said: "Michael comes into our thinking.

"But I have to be honest with you, he would fall behind what we already have.

"When Joe Worrall is fit, with Scott [McKenna] back in and Toby [Figueiredo], they are the three who have played most games."

Hughton later added: "Michael is somebody who trains well every day and had a wealth of experience.

"If it came to a game where I chose not to play one of the others, or we had injuries, I wouldn't hesitate to put him in."

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

Given that Forest have struggled in the Championship in recent months, it is somewhat of a shock that Dawson hasn't been given the chance to prove his worth by Hughton.

During the previous campaign, Dawson averaged a WhoScored match rating of 6.72 which has only been bettered by fellow central-defender Worrall this season.

Having played over 100 games at this level during his career, the defender knows exactly what it takes to compete in this division and thus would have been confident in his ability to help the Reds in their battle against relegation.

However, considering that he is currently below the likes of Worrall, Figueiredo, McKenna and Soh in the pecking order at the City Ground, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Dawson opted to call time on his spell with Forest this summer in order to join a club who can guarantee him first-team football.