“17 games” - Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell is right to raise Nottingham Forest fear | OneFootball

Exeter City head into their FA Cup clash with Nottingham Forest in poor form and Gary Caldwell is concerned the impact another big loss could have.

Part of the magic of the cup is that you're never quite sure what's going to happen when any game kicks off.

Everyone loves an upset and cult heroes can be born in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes you can sense a surprise, other times you're just hoping your team can get out of there with some respectability.

And, let's be honest, that's probably the best most Exeter City fans are hoping for ahead of our first Fourth Round FA Cup tie in 44 years at home to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.

Make no mistake, there is the potential for absolute humiliation in this game which will be broadcast live across the world.

The sense of dread is heightened by the fact that Gary Caldwell's Grecians have shipped 13 goals in their last three games and have looked shell-shocked after a poor set of results and a month plagued by loan recalls and injuries to the back line.

Saturday's loss to Stevenage was particularly shambolic and chills went down the spines of the Grecian faithful as Forest rattled seven unanswered goals past Brighton in the Premier League's early kick-off.

Exeter City have brought in defensive reinforcements

City's situation has been helped by the deadline day arrivals of centre-back duo Angus MacDonald and Ed Turns but both are lacking in match fitness and will be working to get up to speed while the likes of Chris Wood and Anthony Elanga take a well-earned rest in the Dubai sunshine and admire the top-flight table that shows them in 3rd place.

With City shipping six to Leyton Orient, four to Stevenage and three to Blackpool, what hope do they have against what could be even a much-changed Forest XI on Tuesday night?

There is the potential for this to get very ugly, and it's a situation that Caldwell is well aware of.

In fact, he's worried about the impact it could have on the remaining League One games this season as the club look to survive and make it four straight years in the third tier.

Gary Caldwell worried about potential Nottingham Forest humiliation

After City's shambolic loss at the weekend, Caldwell was asked by the club's media team if it would be good to take a break ahead of their televised FA Cup clash.

He replied: "Not when I've seen their score today, no!

"It's going to be an extremely difficult task. We have to regroup as a team, as a football club, we have to try and get reinforcements in, then we have a lot of preparation time in terms of training days that come for us."

The Scottish boss did get some players through the door, but the mood in the camp must be pretty low at the moment following a run of eight games without a League One win and just three in their last 15 outings in all competitions.

City have slumped from a potential play-off push to looking very nervously over their shoulders with 17 games to go.

At kick-off on Tuesday night City could be just four points clear of the drop but, regardless of what happens over the weekend, that gap to the drop zone has been steadily decreasing and currently stands at seven points.

FA Cup hammering could hurt League One chances

Caldwell knows his side have to improve and has promised that they'll be working hard to sort out their defence in the coming days.

However, he also acknowledged that there is the potential for a painful night on Tuesday if they don't shape up quick, and he warned about the damage that could do to the group for the remainder of the season if City show up and put in another disasterclass.

"Some of our actions on the pitch have to be so much better," he continued." Especially against a Premier League team or it could be a really difficult experience, a really negative experience, so we have to be ready for that challenge when it comes.

"More importantly than that we have to be ready for the next 17 games in League One and hopefully the FA Cup can provide a platform for us to go and do that."

City have made some great memories in the FA Cup over the years, from Dean Moxey's lob and the Old Trafford party that followed, hammering Newcastle United 4-0 and taking on Spurs, the Busby Babes gracing the Park and much, much more besides.

There is the odd Curzon Ashton-style catastrophe along the way but largely, as the perennial underdog, the FA Cup is always a source of excitement and hope in EX4.

It doesn't feel like a famous upset is in the offing on Tuesday night, we're just hoping to put up a decent fight - something that's been sorely lacking over the last few weeks.