According to Nottingham Forest great Stuart Pearce, owner Evangelos Marinakis deserves credit for the “steady building process” that has been implemented.
The former Reds defender and manager believes his former team is reaping the benefits of solid foundations being laid. This season, Nuno Espirito Santo’s club is realistically aiming for European football.
Pearce feels Nuno’s predecessor, Steve Cooper, set things in motion by overseeing promotion to the Premier League. And Forest have been able to build from there, with key signings proving crucial to their success this season.
On the Football’s Greatest podcast, Joe Cole mentioned the Reds as one of his favourite teams to watch this season. He then questioned Pearce about what had “gone so right” at the City Ground.
“I think there’s been a steady building process,” stated the 62-year-old. “It’s not just been this year. You go back to Steve Cooper, who led them from the Championship to the Premier League.
“I believe he was treated unfairly at the time. But they’ll turn around now and say they’re third in the league and it was a masterstroke. Whichever way you look at it, he played his part in developing that club from Championship side, being out the (Premier) League for 20-odd years into what they are at the moment.
“They have done a good job of recruiting. They have players like (Anthony) Elanga and (Callum) Hudson-Odoi, who were once regarded to be fantastic young talents but lost their path, but they’ve gotten them back on track.
“A brilliant response. (Chris) Wood has undoubtedly been in the best shape of his life while leading the line. The recruitment appears to be going quite well. Murillo and (Nikola) Milenkovic have created an excellent center-back pairing.
“And the club itself, if you go to the City Ground at any moment, it’s bouncing. It’s great to see. There has been a consistent building process, which the owner should be quite proud of.”
Ashley Cole added: “The work the gaffer has done there to get this team playing the way he wants them to, you can definitely see the improvement. The players up top are electric, capable of gliding past opponents, and they are crucial on the counterattack. Speaking to Morgan Gibbs-White, he said they’re one of the best fanbases in the country.”
Forest sit third in the Premier League table heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures. They make the travel to face Fulham at Craven Cottage this afternoon (3pm kick-off).
