Nuno Espirito Santo says nobody could have predicted the transformation in fortunes at Nottingham Forest this season as his side prepare to face Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Forest have gone from twice battling relegation to finding themselves sitting third in the Premier League table.
If they can defeat Liverpool at the City Ground tomorrow (Tuesday) night, Forest will close the gap between them to three points. But the Forest head coach still refused to go along with Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s view that Forest should be regarded among the title contenders.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Slot said: “If Forest is up there with us, they are definitely a team that are in competition for us. They deserve to be treated like this.”
Nuno continued to sidestep questions about his side being in the title race at his own pre-match press conference. But he did concede that few people — including himself — had expected to see the transformation from fighting relegation last season, to challenging for a top four place and possibly even the title, this time around.
“No one in this room could predict what’s happening,” Nuno said. “It’s the ambition, desire to do things well, hard work and commitment of the players that make it possible. We have to enjoy what we’re doing but nobody in this room could predict what would happen.”
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Forest remain the only side to have beaten Liverpool in the Premier League this season, having secured a 1-0 win at Anfield in September.
They will be looking to do the double over Slot’s side, by securing what would be a club record-equalling (set in 1922) seventh consecutive league win at the City Ground.
“The same message as always: it’s day by day, we didn’t achieve anything yet,” Nuno added. “We will work to the end to see what’s possible. We are doing well but nothing changes in our approach. We know our strengths and weaknesses, let’s play the games.”
Nuno accepts that others outside of the club now view them as title contenders, but wants his players to remain focused on the same mentality that has brought them this far.
“We try as much as possible to ignore what’s around, the way we see things is the way we see life, it’s day by day focus on our tasks and tomorrow is a tough one.
“When we do things good, we should be pleased but too many compliments can distract us. Maybe it was a surprise (when Forest won at Anfield) but it was a long time ago, many things have changed. It’s a new game.”
(Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
