Nottingham Forest 2 Middlesbrough 0: Steve Cotterill's joy soured by Nigel Doughty

Steve Cotterill's first match in charge at the City Ground ended in glorious triumph but there was a bombshell from the boardroom as owner Nigel Doughty put the former European Champions up for sale. Multi-millionaire owner, Doughty, used the match programme to inform the club's supporters of his intentions. Marcus Tudgay's first goal of the season ten minutes before the interval and a superb solo effort from Lewis McGugan af ter the interval gave Cotterill a huge boost. But the latest dollop of bad news had filtered through to the stands even before Steve McClaren's successor had made his way to the dug-out. Off to a flyer: Marcus Tudgay is mobbed after scoring the openerVenture-capitalist Doughty took control 10 years ago and has pumped ?70million into the club he supported as a boy. He stepped down as chairman followingthe backlash that both preceded and followed the club's defeat by Birmingham City which saw former England coach McClaren quit. And he wrote: 'If I felt a new owner would take this club forwards, I would happily facilitate that, so with this in mind I have appointed Seymour Pierce an investment bank in the City which has good experience in dealing in these matters to advise me should any offer be forthcoming.' Forest have been saying publicly for some time that they are mindful of the financial fair play rules that Championship is trying to enforce. That is why Doughty also made it clear that the ?7m-a-year subsidy was going to stop. He added: 'I will not leave the club with a cost-base that will burden it in the next three years. Contracts signed during my time as chairman will be honoured. However, once these current liabilities have run-off, there will be no more financial support.' The man in the middle: Steve Cotterill ended a run of three straight defeats for ForestThat proclamation made it a bitter-sweet evening for Forest's fans after a successful start for Cotterill. Boro had arrived in the east Midlands with the only unbeaten record in the division. And Tony Mowbray's Teessiders had been fairly content to allow Forest to make the running. And, until ten minutes from time, it was a tactic that had served them well.However, McGugan found Chris Gunter, promoted to right midfield, with a ball inside left-back Joe Bennett. The Wales' international sent a low cross into the area and Tudgay had little problem side-footing the ball into the net. It sparked a visible surge in confidence from the hosts who could have added to their advantage had Ishmael Miller not headed over Luke Chambers' shot from underneath Boro's crossbar. Seb Hines should have done far bettertwo minutes after the re-start when his diving header flashed the wrongside of the upright from Barry Robson's free-kick. Keep up-to-date with all the latest news from the Football LeagueRelegation battles beat the boredom for thousands of fans - scrapping them would be crazyCotterill makes his mark by punishing players ?1,000 per word for Twitter rants Coventry 1 Nottingham Forest 0: Jutkiewicz gives new boy Cotterill the Blues

Source: Daily_Mail