Sky Blues boss Gordon Strachan was forced to reshuffle his pack last night just an hour before kick-off as Youssef Safri injured himself in the warm-up.

It was the second time in four days that the Moroccan midfielder was ruled out of Strachan’s plans, after his registration was held up by the FA on Friday which forced him out of the 2-1 defeat at Bradford.

But the Sky Blues received clearance yesterday morning to play the 24-year-old and Strachan named him among the substitutes for last night’s disappointing 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest.

Safri, however, strained his groin in the warm-up which meant a late call to the bench for Marc Edworthy.

And Coventry could have done with the former Raja Casablanca man’s passing ability as they failed to break down their opponents at Highfield Road for the second consecutive game.

To add insult to injury, Forest were reduced to ten men for more than half the game and went down to nine for the final quarter, but City still failed to break their goals duck at home this season. A fact that led to a chorus of boos from supporters as the Sky Blues left the field.

But Strachan did not seem too upset by the crowd’s reaction after the game.

He said:

“It is part and parcel of the job and as long as they vent their feelings about the performance and myself in a reasonable manner, then I’m all right with that.

“It was an extraordinary night and one of those times in your life when it is just not your day.

“It became very difficult because the game was condensed into 40 yards of the pitch and was a bit like a training exercise when you have a back four and midfield four to do nothing but defend. It becomes hard to go and score a goal.”

The City manager has a fortnight to put things right as Saturday’s game at Rotherham has been postponed because of international call-ups.

And Strachan will hope to have a full strength squad to choose from when the Sky Blues take on Grimsby a week on Saturday.

Gary Breen and Julian Joachim are back in full training and should be fit to face the Mariners, while Chris Kirkland, John Eustace and Safri could benefit from the free weekend and become available for selection.