“Incredible” Jamie Carragher hails Nottingham Forests superb start of the season as Nuno delivers unexpected response to Nottingham Forest question as key message drilled home

The way Nottingham Forest has played this season has impressed Jamie Carragher. Drawing parallels to his time at Wolves, he has lauded their defensive prowess and Nuno Espirito Santo’s performance ¹. Additionally, Carragher emphasized the influence of Chris Wood, who he considers to be a “handful” and fits Forest’s playing style ². He has also stated that Forest has made some excellent additions, such as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga, whom he believes could be superior to Brennan Johnson ³. Carragher is generally pleased with Forest’s change and their standing in the Premier League standings.

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo responded with a chuckle when he was asked about his aims for the next 12 months at Nottingham Forest.

“You are speaking about next year? Wrong man to ask this question,” the Portuguese replied with a grin.

Friday marks one year since Nuno was appointed as Forest boss, but he did not realise the anniversary was looming until it was pointed out to him prior to his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brentford (3pm kick-off). As for thinking about what the next year might hold, it is clearly not even on his radar.

The 50-year-old spent his first few months at the City Ground having to fight with various hurdles – the most serious being the club’s points deduction for breaking financial rules – as he sought to prevent relegation. However, now that safety was guaranteed, Nuno could use preseason to communicate his ideals to his club and foster a sense of unity. As they sit fourth in the league before heading to the capital, Forest is now enjoying the benefits of those foundations.

“Time flies! You’re unaware,” Nuno remarked. “It was challenging at first, but it has gone well. I’m having fun with it.

“We make an effort to handle difficulties on a daily basis. Naturally, there were many issues to deal with and attempt to resolve throughout the previous season. Both collectively and as a club, we performed well. We want to do something together, and it is just getting started.

Tomorrow is what I think about, not next year. The way we go about things is day by day.That is the most effective technique to construct anything you wish to accomplish. You must begin on a working basis, such as with each exercise in a training session, if you wish to become more resilient. For instance, losing a duel presents a difficulty for the next one. If you win the next one, you will be more resilient and are growing and improving.

“Of course we are enjoying it, because we enjoy working and we enjoy competing. This is what really pushes us. After the game, you immediately start thinking about the next one – and that is enjoyable because life is not all smiles. It is also important to be there in the tough moments.”

For Nuno, the tough times are made worthwhile by moments such as last weekend when his side secured a dramatic comeback victory over Aston Villa. Forest followed that up during the week with a number of initiatives as part of their community and charity-focused ‘Home For Christmas’ campaign.

“Nights like last weekend make it worthwhile,” Nuno added. This is the job, this is the moment you really enjoy – when the players perform well, we achieve a good result and the fans are happy and are singing even after the match is over. This is what we work for.