Latest Nottingham Forest news as Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds prepare to face Brighton and Hove Albion.
Nuno Espirito Santo, Nottingham Forest’s head coach, intends to face a different set of post-match questions after the game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
The Portuguese want to be quizzed on a favorable result, in addition to the good efforts his side has recently put in. There should also be no reference of disputed refereeing decisions. “That is what everybody wants,” he joked.
Nuno had enough to talk about with the media on Friday lunchtime, especially after last weekend’s defeat to Liverpool. Here’s what he said during his pre-match press conference.
Nuno emphasized the necessity for the Reds to “move on” from the aftermath from last Saturday. Referee Paul Tierney’s blunder prior to Liverpool’s winning goal has dominated the conversation all week.
The Football Association penalized the team and coach Steven Reid on Wednesday over their post-game protests. However, Nuno agrees that controlling one’s emotions in such situations is tough.
“It is difficult to control your emotions after what happened, unfortunately,” he went on to say. “We should, but it’s difficult when you see such a large crisis unfold.
“Let us move forward. Personally, I believe we should forget about it and move on because we have more serious concerns to deal with. It’s difficult to get it out of our heads, but we have to do it.”
The club asked Mark Clattenburg, who has taken on a consultant position at the City Ground, to talk to the media following Saturday’s game. Nuno claims the ex-referee’s appointment allows him to avoid certain inquiries.
“It has helped because it means I do not need to comment on these situations,” he said. “My job is to prepare the team as best I can. If I can avoid discussing all of these issues, that’s even better.
Results are necessary.
It may be argued that Forest would travel to the south coast this weekend, motivated by a sense of unfairness over Tierney’s blunder. After all, it wasn’t the first time they’d left the game feeling unjustly treated by officials.
Nuno, though, doesn’t see it that way. Rather, his top concern is making sure the players maintain their current caliber of play.
They have performed admirably in their last few games, including against Jurgen Klopp’s team, but their efforts haven’t always yielded the desired results. Changing that will be a task as they battle to stay in the Premier League.
When asked if the Reds could benefit from any sense of injustice, Nuno responded, “There is nothing positive about what happened.” Nothing favorable. That week was really difficult. In particular, it ended horribly.
“There is no silver lining to what transpired. Nothing can be inferred from it for us. We conclude that we had a solid game.
“We are aware of our strong play. Even though we are performing a lot of tasks flawlessly, the games are not yielding any benefits for us. We must maintain our current performance level and gain ground.
The greatest method to score is to play well and compete well. We must continue to play with the same awareness and dedication as before, then improve our finishing and clinical skills to fully utilize our abilities. We will see results if we work hard.
Is it about eliminating errors and leaving small margins? Certainly, but not just ours. Not just ours, but also ours,” Nuno continued.
Brighton Challenge
The Reds head to the Amex Stadium after three straight losses across all competitions. Brighton is in a similar situation.
In their past three games, the Seagulls have allowed eight goals without a response, including four goals on the road against Roma on Thursday night in the Europa League. Nuno is aware of the difficulty his team will confront, though.
Regarding Brighton, he stated, “They are a good team.” “I am aware of the challenges involved in playing in both the Premier League and Europe.
“Having to travel back after playing in another country requires a brief recuperation period. Two days later, you have to compete again, which is not easy.
However, we are speaking about a formidable foe. They have an excellent boss as well as excellent players. It should be a hard game.
Awoniyi advancement
The crucial decision to start Taiwo Awoniyi on the bench for the previous outing was taken by Nuno. He has already discussed how, even after recovering from groin surgery, the forward still needs to be handled carefully.
Awoniyi is still working on reaching match sharpness. The Nigerian international has had to play more minutes in less time than Forest would have preferred due to an injury to Chris Wood.
But he’s making progress. Additionally, because Wood has resumed training, Nuno might have him available on Sunday. Wood is from New Zealand.
About Awoniyi, Nuno remarked, “He is closer.” “Everyone is aware of Taiwo’s situation; after missing a significant amount of time due to an injury, he began playing more than he ought to have because of the team’s difficulties.
“He’s getting better. Considering that he had played ninety minutes and had a little recuperation period following his 90-minute performance in the FA Cup, it was decided not to start him. However, he had a good finish on Saturday and is OK.
