Championship: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Crystal Palace

Colin Calderwood is the new favourite as the first boss in the Championship to get the chop - but fans wanting his head are wasting their breath.

Calderwood will meet Forest chief executive Mark Arthur today after Crystal Palace gave his kids their seventh defeat in eight games. But the pair will fly out to China to map out next year's pre-season tour there, a clear sign Calderwood is safe.

And Forest chairman Nigel Doughty rejected an approach from the representative of an unemployed Premier League manager last week, and has no plans to sack Calderwood.

Frustrated fans are running out of patience after a difficult start in the second tier, but their boss is probably one of the safest in the division.

And Calderwood - who started with nine player sunder the age of 24 - is determined to stick with his youngsters.

He said: "There are bound to be rumours because of the position we're in. But we're a developing group and not too much is wrong. The future is quite bright.

"There are obviously questions to be asked of ourselves but I firmly believe in what we're doing and the way we're doing it. It's not so naive that it's fantasy football.

"There are one or two ingredients we could do with but we won't compromise our standards or beliefs.

"Whatever you don't have when you lose games, people think that's the saviour.

"We knew what this division would be like and a bit of misfortune along the way has contributed to the run.

"That is a legacy of the difference between the two divisions - we have been punished this year where we might have escaped last year.

"We must stick with the players that won promotion. This group will play in this league for a number of years but we've got to arrest the situation quickly and find the winning formula."

Forest were bullied for long periods by Neil Warnock's battlers, who romped to their second win in a week.

Paul I fill stunned the home side after just four minutes with a pile driver from 20 yards, and Forest simply did not have the cutting edge to trouble Palace.

Substitute Shefki Kuqi piled on the misery by taking advantage of keeper Paul Smith's howler to lob into the net from outside the box.

It was Kuqi's first Palace goal since April 2007 and he hopes to finally prove to Warnock he can be a Selhurst Park success.

He said: "It was a scrappy season for me last year, going out on loan, then I was injured and was in and out of the team.

"Every striker wants to have a settled run in the team and if I get my chance I always think I'll score goals."

Forest: Smith 5, Wilson 7, Morgan 5, Thornhill 6 (Cole 60), Bennett 6, McCleary 6, Perch 6, Cohen 6, Moussi 5 (Chambers 79), Martin 4 (Davies 69, 5), Tyson 6

Palace: Speroni 7, Butterfield 6, McCarthy 6 (Lawrence 36 6), Fonte 8, Hill 6, Derry 7, Watson 7, Carle 6(Danns 45, 6), Ifill 7, Beattie 5, Moses 6 (Kuqi 66, 6)

Goals: I fill 4, Kuqi 81

Referee: Richard Beeby

ATTENDANCE: 22,811

COMPUTER

FOREST

CRYSTAL PALACE

PALACE TOO POWERFUL

54% BALL POSSESSION 46%

FACE TO FACE

14 Corners 5

2 Offside 7

12 Fouls 17

3 Cards 3

SHOTS

9 off target 1

7 on target 4

MAN OF THE MATCH

Jose Fonte (PALACE) 8

Portuguese man of war at the back

VILLAIN OF THE MATCH

Lee Martin (FOREST) 4

Absolute show pony and totally ineffectual

ANORAK

Forest have only sacked one manager in seven years - Paul Hart.

NEXT THREE GAMES

FOREST

Sat Oct 18: QPR (a) Champ'ship

Tues Oct 21: Ipswich (h) Ch'ship

Sat Oct 25: Cardiff (h) Ch'ship

PALACE

Sat Oct 18: Barnsley (h) Ch'ship

Tues Oct 21: Birmingham (a) Ch

Sat Oct 25: Blackpool (a) Ch'ship