McGugan scored his first goal of the 2011–12 campaign in a League Cup match against Nottingham derby rivals Notts County on 9 August, in what was Steve McClaren's first win in his short reign as Forest manager. He scored from the penalty spot in a 2–2 home draw with East Midlands rivals Leicester City on 20 August. However he went on to suffer a loss of form; Birmingham City made an approach to sign McGugan on loan in February, but were rejected by Forest manager Steve Cotterill, who commented on the player's lack of form by saying "Lewis is one of our most creative, gifted players. But the fact is that creative players cannot be creative every five minutes".