Latest Nottingham Forest news as Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds prepare for the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Evangelos Marinakis, Nottingham Forest’s owner, has issued a dramatic rallying cry to the club’s players ahead of the upcoming Premier League season.
Under head coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s leadership, the Reds hope to remain in the top division this season. Following three relegation battles since their return to the top tier of English football, the goal this time is to avoid another survival scrap.
Their pre-season friendlies have so far offered good hints of what Forest may achieve with Nuno at the helm. Marinakis has reminded the squad that they must “never give up” with fewer than three weeks till the major action begins.
The Greek was there for the Reds’ friendly against Elche on Friday night, as Nuno’s side ended their training camp in Spain with a defeat. It was their first loss of the summer, following victories over Chesterfield and Millwall and a tie with Sunderland.
Marinakis spent an hour after the game against the Spanish team in the Pinatar Arena talking with the players, coaching staff, and backroom staff. According to the club, he sent a “key message of unity and togetherness”.
Forest stated, “The address (by Marinakis) emphasized the importance of the family relationship and team spirit that has continued to build throughout the group. He emphasized the transforming power of unity and exhorted the group to fight, survive, and triumph, making a collective pledge to never give up.
Marinakis then dined with Nuno, Ross Wilson, Chief Football Officer, and Ed Henderson, Head of Football Operations. According to reports, the quartet discussed season plans for 2024/25 in “meticulous detail”.
The Reds have two additional friendlies before their first game at home against Bournemouth on August 17. They will host Villarreal at the City Ground on Friday (August 2) at 8 p.m., before traveling to Greece to face Olympiacos, also owned by Marinakis, on Thursday, August 8, at 7 p.m. BST.
