Nuno Espirito Santo: Memories of Wolves will forever be stuck in my mind – but my Nottingham Forest team has a special link | Football news

When I spent a few days with Nottingham Forest at the end of pre-season in Spain, I knew they would be third in the table at the start of the year.

Well, maybe not.

But what I will say is that it was quite clear that with an entire summer spent under Nuno Espirito Santo, the atmosphere among his squad was electric and they seemed closer than ever.

It's easy to forget, but Nuno spent a huge majority of last season battling the likes of a relegation battle, points deductions and a bloated squad – but Forest are now benefiting from what he describes as an obsession to improve in all areas of the game.

What became clear from sitting down with a 50-year-old man was how protective he felt about this group. The group explained in this exclusive interview that he and the club decided they wanted to stay together because they believed in the players' potential.

Before facing his former club, Wolverhampton Wanderers monday night football, Espirito Santo said Sky Sports He is enjoying his return to Molineux.

“Of course, of course. We spent four years there. It was beautiful. I think we will have memories forever. The staff, the players and Morgan (Gibbs-White) are coming back. It's very nice.”

Forest, the surprise of the English Premier League this season, is seeking its sixth successive victory. Speaking on Friday, Nuno said there had been little time to reflect on his side's eye-catching first half of the season.

It is believed that Forest's success this season depends on adhering to the principles established during the 2023/24 season.

Repetition, repetition, repetition.

“You start with a routine and when you achieve a routine, they become habits. And on the field, if you have habits and you play without even knowing that your teammates will be in certain positions, sometimes it doesn't happen.

“When that happens, it clicks. It flows.”

So how can he drown out the hype surrounding the Champions League candidates?

“We have stuck to the same message since day one,” says Espirito Santo. “This is what we are obsessed with. This is how we work and how we think we should do things – focusing on one match at a time.

“Focusing on today's training session. Trying to look at all the training and improving the players' performances and results helps.

“But there's no distraction because we don't change. That's how we deal with competition.”

Espirito Santo admits it will be harder for him to keep Forest in the top four in the Premier League than it was for him to get there.

Forest have far exceeded expectations this season after securing safety in the Championship on the final day of the 2023-24 season with a 2-1 win over Burnley. Does Nuno believe that his team is capable of maintaining its remarkable rise in the rankings?

“I'm very happy, very happy, proud, happy,” he said when asked to reflect on his first 12 months in office.

“I know that not many teams can say they have a healthy squad. We managed to keep the core of the team from last season. We went through a difficult moment, but it was important that we decided together that we were leaving.” To go with the quality team.

“We will believe in it and do it again, improving what we have to improve. We are halfway there, but we are proud of what we have been doing. Now comes the big challenge.

“Can we do it again? Will we face the same competitors? Can we compete again and again against these strong competitors… in the same way we did in the first round.”

Nuno's team bid farewell to 2024 with a fifth successive win, after Sunday's 2-0 win over Everton to ensure they start the new year in third place.

Forest's current winning streak is the longest in the Premier League since the 1994-95 season when they finished third behind champions Blackburn and Manchester United under former coach Frank Clarke.

Following Monday's trip to Molineux, Forest have played three successive home matches against Luton, in the FA Cup, Liverpool and Southampton.

Every positive result and performance seems like an affront to pre-season expectations that the team would struggle again, but Nuno has dismissed that theory.

“It's not about proving people wrong, it's not about that,” he insists.

“It's about improvement, self-esteem and connecting with your teammates. It's about doing the job together, not individually.

“How can I make things better if I do things right? That's what drives us, that's what drives us. We don't have to prove anything to anyone. We have to prove to ourselves that we want to do it, and we want to compete and play good football.

“In a way that makes our fans happy after the match. In a way that we go back to our families and feel that we performed well. We come back again with the same motivation, regardless of the result we achieved before.

“But we will go into next week with the same goal, and with the same idea of ​​competing again. That is what is important.”

This will be the fourth managerial meeting between the Portuguese duo Vitor Pereira and Espirito Santo.

The previous three encounters were all between Rio Ave and Porto in the 2012-2013 season, and Nuno's Porto did not lose in those matches, winning twice.

Espirito Santo is unbeaten in four managerial meetings against Wolves since he left Molineux, drawing both as Forest manager at the City Ground.

His only Premier League return to his old stomping grounds in August 2021 resulted in a narrow win during his short spell as Tottenham manager.

And given Forest's impressive away record this season, fans who make the short trip across the Midlands will be confident of picking up another three points on the road thanks to the team spirit fostered by Espirito Santo.

“That's the basics,” says the forest chief, smiling. “This is the foundation of everything. Everything I told you before… without this link, it is impossible.

“If you don't have a strong bond between your teammates, how can you – after a bad moment – go back with the same motivation, look over your shoulder and say, 'Let's do it again.' That's the key.

“I think we're building a good theme, but we still have a lot of things that can make us stronger and stronger on a day-to-day basis in terms of bonds.

“We are in the team… when I say the coaching staff, the players, the staff working on the training ground, everyone. Then the fans, we are working on improving that as well. I think the fans believe us more.

“They trust us. They know we will compete and that is what we can promise them. We will compete.”

We see a certain side of Nuno in his press conferences and on the touchline in matches, but what has become more apparent to me is that there is another side to him that has created a special bond between this group of players and the man he plays for. Cost.

With their current defense and lethal attack linked to all of the above – why can't they secure a real Champions League berth?

After all, they won't have European football to compete with like so many others.

Watch Wolves vs Nottingham Forest on Monday Night Football, starting at 8pm