The challenge facing Mark Robins

15 minutes into last night's game against Nottingham Forest and Mark Robins would have been satisfied with what he'd seen. Town were 1-0 up and had missed a couple of chances either side of that goal which would have really put us in control. Fast forward a couple of hours and Robins said "it is the most embarrassed that I have been in all my time as a manager".

That statement sums up how many Town fans will have felt as they left The City Ground - embarrassed. It wasn't the lack of quality that left a bad taste in the mouths of those who made the trip last night, it was the lack of effort. Forest had the quality to punish us, but we gave them too much time on the ball and constantly put in half-hearted challenges instead of trying to win the ball. Even Peter Clarke and Lee Novak, loved by so many because they try, looked like the couldn't be bothered.

Norwood and Clayton watch on as Radowslaw Majewski scores his third from distance

The only starting player to really look like he cared last night was loanee James Vaughan. Following each of Forest's first three goals he clapped and screamed at his team-mates in an effort to elicit a response. In sharp contrast, our captain was stood silently on the edge of our area, looking at the floor with his hands on his hips. That's the major worry at the minute, we arguably have the quality to mount a fight against relegation, but it really looks like we don't have the spirit.

Just as we were well in the game last night until Forest scored their first goal, we were also holding our own against Watford and Derby in the early stages of those matches, before capitulating completely after conceding a goal. There is no backbone in our team at the minute, nobody to stand up and drag us through tough times, instead we just surrender timidly to teams who actually want to win football matches. Things become more alarming when you analyse our recent form.

While other teams near the bottom of the table are showing signs of life, Town are in free-fall. We've leaked 20 goals in our last seven league matches, including two 6-1 defeats. In that same period we haven't managed to score more than one goal in any league game, giving us a goal difference of -16 in 2013 and -23 overall, the worst in The Championship and second worst in the Football League. To top it off we've won once in 16 league games, a record dating back to early November.

James Vaughan scored in Town's one and only win since early November

Peterborough went to The New Den last night and won 5-1, their sixth win in 10 league matches. Sheffield Wednesday have lost only one of their last 11 league games. Barnsley have won four league games in a row and five of their last six. Bristol City have won three out of seven league games since Sean O'Driscoll took charge. Mick McCarthy has rejuvenated Ipswich. Of all the teams at the bottom end of the table only Wolves look as poor as Town, failing to win any of their last 10 league games.

It's looking more and more like we're going down without so much as a whimper. Every time Town collapse, another team in the relegation battle wins and moves above us. Our goal difference means we effectively have a point less than what the league table states, and we currently find ourselves one place outside the relegation zone with both Peterborough and Wolves not too far behind us. It's looking bleak, but it was also looking bleak for Coventry City when Mark Robins took over there.

Coventry were second bottom of League One with no wins in their first seven games when Robins got the job in September. By the time he got appointed as new manager of Town last week he'd moved them 15 places up the table to 8th place, 15 points clear of the relegation zone with the Playoffs looking like a real possibility. Combined with his achievements in his time at Barnsley Robins clearly has what it takes to pull teams away from trouble, but surely he's never managed a club looking as hopeless as Town currently do.

Mark Robins has much needed experience of relegation fights

Top of his list of priorities should be putting together a team who have the stomach for a fight. Some of our players are well short of form and belief and need dropping in order to re-ignite their hunger while giving other players an opportunity to impress. The likes of Oliver Norwood and Jack Hunt in particular in recent weeks have had a really tough time, drop them to the bench and give the likes of Paul Dixon and Scott Arfield opportunities, both who have hardly been terrible of late.

Robins has some big decisions to make. He was present for our win against Leicester so he has seen the work-rate we have in the squad, but perhaps it doesn't lie with some of the players who started against Forest. Gerrard, Wallace, Arfield and Dixon all did their jobs well that night, and offer options for Robins should he wish to shuffle his pack. Sean Scannell has yet to be utilised by Robins as well, sacrificed twice in two games despite being the only player we have who can beat a man.

Although Town aren't currently in the bottom three, we're teetering on the edge and are many people's pick to be relegated. Our form is woeful and too many of our players don't seem up for the fight. Mark Robins has pulled teams clear of trouble in the past, but he'll need to do something very special to maintain our Championship status this season.

The Championship - A league that makes no sense and a relegation battle that's impossible to predict

Town's first home game of the season was against Nottingham Forest. It was our first game on home soil in the second tier of English football for 12 years, and the gulf in class between League One and The Championship was obvious. Forest were organised, played it along the deck and attacked at pace. In reality they deserved to win comprehensively, but we managed to sneak a 1-1 draw with a late penalty.

Fast forward six months and a team that looked so good currently lie in mid-table. Although a Playoff push isn't yet out of the question it isn't where I expected them to be. More surprising perhaps is that they haven't just replaced the man who was in charge that night, but they've replaced his replacement as well. Forest have dropped five places and won only once in seven matches since sacking Sean O'Driscoll, and in the same space of time Alex McLeish arrived and departed before Billy Davies returned for a second spell as manager.

Forest might be a special kind of ridiculous, but they represent the unpredictability of The Championship perfectly. To make things even sweeter, O'Driscoll's Bristol City beat Davies' Nottingham Forest this past weekend. In fact, the bottom three teams all won at the weekend against opposition who started the day in the top half of the table. £1 on Peterborough, Bristol City and Barnsley all winning would have brought you at least £50, that's how unpredictable this league is.

Town started the season by performing above all expectations, winning four of our first seven matches and sitting second in the table. However, since we beat Blackpool to go second back in September we've won five of our last 24 matches, and only one in our last 13. That great start is long forgotten, Simon Grayson has been dismissed and Dean Hoyle is currently looking for a new manager. With such dire form and the second worst goal difference in the league it will take something special to turn this sinking ship around.

We're not the only team to have started the season well only to struggle as the season has gone on. Stale Solbakken made a solid enough start to his tenure at Wolves and they were sixth in the league after seven games. This past weekend however they were in the bottom three until a late, late Danny Batth goal earned them a point against Leeds. Wolves are dropping quicker than Town are, having won only one of their last ten and failing to win any of Dean Saunders' five games since he took over following Solbakken's sacking.

So there are teams suddenly picking results up out of nowhere and teams who are seemingly in freefall. That would suggest that Huddersfield and Wolves will go down while Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday will survive because they've hit a purple patch. It's not that simple, in this league anyone can beat anyone and it's consistency that will eventually reap rewards, but that's not to say the form of some teams amidst the relegation struggle isn't impressive.

Sheffield Wednesday would be promotion contenders had they performed throughout the season like they have in the last couple of months. The Owls have lost only one of their last ten matches and have won six of those games. Not only are they getting results, but they've also strengthened, bringing in Leroy Lita and Connor Wickham, while Town have yet to venture into the loan market, although Hoyle has promised he will bring someone in if needed.

Barnsley are another team who not long since were doomed to spending next season in League One. They sacked Keith Hill just before the new year and then suffered the embarrassment of a seemingly endless list of candidates publicly refusing to replace him. In the end assistant manager David Flitcroft took the reigns and he's kick-started their survival effort. The Tykes have won only nine matches all season, and four of those have been in their last five games.

Town will be hoping the new manager effect will work as well for us as it has for Barnsley. Dean Saunders hasn't managed to improve Wolves fortunes but one manager who has breathed new life into a team is Mick McCarthy at Ipswich Town. They started the season in terrible form and had won only one of 13 games before McCarthy took charge, but have since won eight of their last 18 games to give themselves a great chance of maintaining their Championship status.

Three points separate six teams between Bolton in 17th and Barnsley in 22nd. So surely the two teams cut adrift in the bottom two places are certain to be relegated? Not quite. Bristol City have won three of their last four league games with O'Driscoll as manager and Peterborough have won five of their last nine matches, losing only two of those games. Nobody wants to go down, and all the teams down at the bottom are doing everything they can to avoid the drop.

Even Blackpool, Charlton and Birmingham are only six points above the relegation zone. It's incredibly tough to predict who will go down this season because The Championship very rarely makes sense. Some teams are in freefall and some teams are hitting form, but you wouldn't bet against a Wolves win and Barnsley defeat next weekend.

Who wants to be a Huddersfield Town manager?

When Simon Grayson was sacked at the end of January following a run of 12 league games without a win, pretty much every Town fan hoped Nigel Adkins would be the man to replace him. Unemployed after being sacked by Southampton, Adkins has a brilliant record following stints at Scunthorpe and Southampton. We all clearly want him, but the important question is does he want us?

The managerial merry-go-round is in full effect at the minute - Grayson joins the likes of Keith Hill, Stale Solbakken, Derek McInnes, Owen Coyle, Henning Berg and most recently Alex McLeish who have all left Championship clubs this season. Whoever is appointed Town manager will also become the third manager inside a year, presuming they are appointed before 15th February. It therefore has to be questions, how attractive is the Huddersfield Town job to potential candidates, and would they want to come here?

Nigel Adkins

2/1 favourite for the Forest job at the time of writing, Adkins led Scunthorpe United to two promotions in three years and then took Southampton from League One to the Premier League in just two seasons. His CV is by far the most impressive of all those rumoured to be on our shortlist of candidates, meaning he could also be considered the most unlikely of the candidates to want the job. He might be out of work but he also has a solid reputation these days following his heroics at St Mary's, and could more than likely hold out for a higher profile position, like the one that just opened up at the City Ground.

Paolo Di Canio

The Italian led Swindon Town to the League Two title last season and they've continued to progress in League One, currently sitting Fourth in the table. Di Canio is currently 12/1 to get the job and he's never been much higher than third or fourth favourite, perhaps indicating that although people rate him, they don't necessarily see him being appointed. It's thought that Dean Hoyle became fed up with Lee Clark's erratic behaviour and the Georgie can't hold a candle to the antics of Di Canio. A self confessed fascist who is on the front page as much as the back, no matter how good his managerial record is you can certainly see why people don't think Hoyle would want to work with him.

Owen Coyle

Many people see him as a more likely candidate than either of the above, not as erratic as Di Canio and not as high profile as Adkins. However, given that he's apparently already refused to even discuss managerial positions at Ipswich Town and Blackpool, would he see Huddersfield Town as a better option? Coyle built solid foundations at Burnley and got them promoted to the Premier League when nobody gave them a chance, but made a surprise move to rivals Bolton Wanderers just as things were starting to go wrong at Turf Moor. A good first year in charge was followed by a terrible drop in results and performances, leading to relegation and his eventual dismissal.

Mark Robins

On paper the former Robins makes perfect sense. His first managerial job was at Rotherham when the club was going through a period of uncertainty, and he nearly delivered promotion in his first season and then also in his second season despite a 17 point deduction. Robins was then hired by Barnsley and kept them safe in the Championship for two seasons before leaving after a disagreement over transfer funds with the board. Most recently he was appointed manager of Coventry City and has transformed them from relegation fodder to likely promotion candidates. However, having only took charge at the Ricoh Arena in September, would he be willing to move again so soon?

Paul Tisdale

Similar to Robins, current Exeter City manager Tisdale is a young manager with a decent record. Back-to-back promotions into the Football League and then to League One have seen him become a popular candidate for many jobs. Just as popular as his track record for over-performing (consecutive promotions and then keeping Exeter in League One, for a season at least) is the fact that his teams play a short passing style of football. Tisdale seems to fit the mould for matching the long-term ambition of the club that Hoyle, Clibbens and Wilson keep talking about, but having turned down the Swansea City job not too long ago would he be willing to move North to Huddersfield?

Richie Barker

This one seems to have come from nowhere, and Barker is currently third favourite to get the job at 7/1. He did a brilliant job transitioning from youth team manager to full-time manager at Bury, leading them to promotion from League Two and maintaining their League One status. He landed the Crawley Town job in August, citing them as a "club on the up" when he took charge. You therefore have to presume Huddersfield would be a step up from Crawley, so if approached he could be interested if he's as ambitious as he seems. Relatively inexperienced and with a track record not quite as impressive as other candidates, Barker would hardly excite Town fans.

Uwe Rosler

Former Manchester City striker Rosler took temprorary charge of Molde FK in August 2010 and doubled their points in the final eight games of the season, saving them from relegation. Despite this fantastic feat he was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and while the former United striker has been linked with many high profile jobs since, the former City striker is doing a very steady job with Brentford, albeit with much less admiration. Rosler has Brentford sitting Fifth in League One, and playing very good football too. He's not even listed on Skybet but could be a good shout as he should fit the mould described by Clibbens and Brentford to Huddersfield is undoubtedly a step up.

Steven Pressley

Perhaps the most underwhelming of all the managers we've been linked to, Pressley is current manager at Scottish side Falkirk, a club Town know a lot about. Ross Wilson spent 15 months there as Head of Football Development, and we've also signed Scott Arfield, Kallum Higginbotham and Murray Wallace from Falkirk in recent seasons. Having been assistant manager to George Burley in his spell as Scotland manager, Pressley was appointed manager of Falkirk in 2010. They were relegated top the First Division in his first season in charge and as yet they've failed to bounce back, languishing in mid-table.

Gary Megson

Did I say Pressley was the most underwhelming candidate for the job? Perhaps not if the reaction to Gary Megson attending this past weekends match is anything to go by. Sheffield Wednesday sacked him almost a year ago, and upon doing so improved dramatically and achieved promotion under Dave Jones. Although it's argued Megson can get results for teams, and is known for getting 100% commitment from his players which is something we're in desperate need of, the boring style of football he prefers will turn many Town fans off.

Gareth Southgate

The last name on this shortlist of potential managers is former Middlesbrough manager, and current Head of Elite Development at the Football Assocation, Gareth Southgate. Although many view his time at Middlesbrough as a failure he did bring through some players who have gone on to be sold for profit and built a core part of their current team. The former England defender is another candidate who will fit into the long-term vision Hoyle, Clibbens and Wilson are looking to build as he would look to make use of the academy system we already have in place. Hoyle is also a known fan of Southgate, but it's unlikely he could be tempted away from his punditry job as well as his role at the FA.

Although Adkins and Di Canio remain my two preferred candidates to replace Simon Grayson, it's looking more and more likely our eventual new manager could come as a surprise to many. With some potential candidates looking like they won't fit into the vision of our chairman, and with some perhaps not wanting to manage Huddersfield Town, we'll just have to wait and see who is not only ideal but also interested in it.