The most recent information on Nottingham Forest as Nuno Espirito Santo’s team gets ready for the 2024–2025 Premier League season
Head coach of Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, held court as sunlight flooded through the Turf Moor press conference room, and he had a point he wanted to get across.
When it comes to speaking with the media, Portuguese people usually don’t say much. He made sure to emphasize the same points multiple times in this instance.
Soon after his club defeated Burnley on the last day of play in May of last year, he declared, “The platform is there.” “There it is, there it is, the platform.”
As his squad is ready to go back into play a few months later, Nuno’s assertion is still valid. Now, though, everything hinges on how the Reds expand upon that base. That is what they have to overcome.
We’re back here, starting a new season. And for Forest, things will be different this time, am I right?
Could the Reds, after two nail-biting campaigns, lower the anxiety level of their supporters in 2024–2025? That will undoubtedly be the goal.
This season, Forest wants to advance in the Premier League. After achieving their remarkable return to the top table, they have faced two consecutive relegation battles; two years of nail-biting and permutations throughout the later portions of the campaigns.
This time, the key word will be progress. Naturally, it was hoped such would be the case during the previous season, but things didn’t exactly work out that way.
But again, it was never going to be simple to establish yourself as a premier club. Time would always be of the essence. After Forest’s memorable promotion in 2022, they had been out of the elite for over 20 years, thus making sure their comeback was prolonged had to be the top goal.
Now that they’ve accomplished that and are entering their third season in a row among the big boys, the objective is to begin climbing. Evangelos Marinakis, the aspirational owner, is unlikely to survive another year of scraping by.
The shipping magnate has made no secret of the fact he wants the club to be challenging further up the table. Indeed, he spoke of targeting trophies in the hours after that magical day at Wembley two years ago. His expectations haven’t exactly been tempered in the intervening period.
“You will see great things with Forest,” Marinakis said earlier this year. “I’m confident that you will see in years to come where Forest will be. It’s a great team, it inspires us and we want to do more and you will see in the years to come that we have big dreams for Forest.”
He was speaking after Olympiacos’ victory over Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League in May. That the Greek giants, who Marinakis also owns, went on to win that competition will no doubt only have added fuel to his “big dreams” on the banks of the Trent.
The man tasked with fulfilling them is Nuno. This will be the 50-year-old’s first full season at the helm. He will no doubt hope it proves to be a somewhat quieter one than last time around.
Nuno certainly had a lot to contend with after he was appointed last December. From a points deduction to numerous refereeing controversies and several key absences, the Reds boss did not have an easy time of it.
It was, he admitted once it was all done and dusted, the most challenging period of his managerial career to date. “Definitely the most difficult,” he conceded.
No wonder he gave a puff off the cheeks after the final whistle had blown and safety had been secured in Lancashire. It was that kind of season. Nuno’s pledge to celebrate with a couple of beers and a day off will have been echoed by many in the away end and those supporters following from afar that day.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers chief managed to successfully steer Forest through those somewhat choppy waters, though. Moreover, the team showed some promising glimpses under his stewardship.
It was tough going at times, but there was enough to suggest there is cause for optimism when it comes to the campaign ahead under Nuno. Nevertheless, he left nobody in any doubt about what would be required going forward.
“We know from since we arrived the squad is unbalanced; it was naturally unbalanced,” he stated back in May. “We were not able to balance it. We are short of options in some positions and unfortunately we had a lot of injuries.
“When you think about building, the platform is there. It is just a matter now of making the right decisions to have the squad to face what is going to be again a very tough season. What makes it through the season is the squad.
“I think the team started to enjoy themselves because we have been able to start creating a routine. We had the same players playing together over and over again, and that reflects in the performance.
“Of course, when you say enjoy, all the managers enjoy when they have a lot of solutions and can build. It is not enjoyable when you are short of options and have to try things.
“But in terms of football, I think we finished in a very nice way in terms of playing. We played big teams and were always entertaining.”
Nuno admitted last season was challenging because he arrived midway through it. He likes to spend time creating a bond and a unity within his squads. Being thrown straight in at the deep end of the Trent didn’t allow for that during his first few months in charge; not when there was such pressure to achieve results.
“It was the first time we as a coaching staff had joined a club in the middle of a season. It was a new experience,” he explained on that day at Turf Moor.
“We embraced the challenge; it was something new. But what we didn’t have, what we are getting now, is what you normally achieve in pre-season – the bond. We didn’t have a pre-season. We had to build it, our relationship, through the season while competing.
“When you ask me if it was hard, it was hard because we didn’t have the chance to build what is most important for me in football – the bond. Now we are starting to see that the players are trusting us and trusting each other.”
Given that, working with his players for the entire preseason would have suited Nuno. Time will tell if he possesses adequate strength in depth, but the dressing room has undergone modifications. Forest was aware that the summer transfer window was crucial.
The squad and the fans know exactly what to anticipate in the Premier League these days. They are aware that it is a brutal, hard division that does not spare any victims.
However, supporters are also aware of the group’s potential and the chance for advancement. It won’t come easily to Forest; she will have to work hard for it.
There will undoubtedly be the typical ups and downs, turns and twists, but it would be nice to have a bit less drama than the previous time. Let’s start counting down to the 2024–2025 season.
