Steve Cotterill says Nottingham Forest must learn lessons from this campaign if they are to avoid struggling at the wrong end next season.
The Reds virtually secured their survival with a goalless draw against play-off chasing Blackpool at the City Ground on Saturday.
But the club's reliance on loan players and the number of players set to be out of contract in the summer is a major cause for concern for Cotterill.
"I hope the club takes this as a warning. The playing squad has not been turned over and it needed to be. We have seen the unbalanced side of the squad," Cotterill said. "We need to be aware that there are good players who are out of contract and there are good loan players who will be going back to their clubs.
"On Saturday we competed against a side chasing promotion but that was with all the loan players, and with the players who are out of contract. If we do not do something, we will be in a worse situation than when I arrived.
"Maybe we stop the juggernaut before it goes out of control and flies off the road at the bottom of the hill. It is a vital few months.
"The players who are out of contract, if they leave the club and the loan players go back, this situation is a scare, a warning, and we need to learn from it. If we do not, we will be in trouble next year."
