Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo responded with a chuckle when he was asked about his aims for the next 12 months at Nottingham Forest.
“You are speaking about next year? Wrong man to ask this question,” the Portuguese replied with a grin.
Friday marks one year since Nuno was appointed as Forest boss, but he did not realise the anniversary was looming until it was pointed out to him prior to his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brentford (3pm kick-off). As for thinking about what the next year might hold, it is clearly not even on his radar.
The 50-year-old spent his first few months at the City Ground having to contend with several challenges - the most significant being the club’s points deduction for breaching financial rules - as he fought to avoid relegation. But with safety secured, Nuno was able to use pre-season to get his ideas across to his squad and develop a team spirit. Forest are now reaping the rewards of those foundations as they sit fourth in the table ahead of travelling to the capital.
“Time goes fast! You don’t realise,” Nuno said. “It started difficult but it has been good. I am enjoying it.
“What we try to do is deal with situations on a daily basis. Last season, of course, was a lot of things to attend to on a daily basis and to try to solve. We did well as a group and as a club. Now it is the beginning of something we want to do together.
“I don’t think about next year, I think about tomorrow. How we approach things is day by day.
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“That is the best way to build anything you want to achieve. If you want to be more resilient, you have to start on a working basis such as with every action in a training session. For example, if there is a duel you lose, it is a challenge for the next one. If you win the next one, you will be more resilient and are growing and improving.
“Of course we are enjoying it, because we enjoy working and we enjoy competing. This is what really pushes us. After the game, you immediately start thinking about the next one - and that is enjoyable because life is not all smiles. It is also important to be there in the tough moments.”
For Nuno, the tough times are made worthwhile by moments such as last weekend when his side secured a dramatic comeback victory over Aston Villa. Forest followed that up during the week with a number of initiatives as part of their community and charity-focused ‘Home For Christmas’ campaign.
“Nights like last weekend make it worthwhile,” Nuno added. This is the job, this is the moment you really enjoy - when the players perform well, we achieve a good result and the fans are happy and are singing even after the match is over. This is what we work for.
“We have been out at a lot of community events, like hospital visits and to the food bank, having contact with people. What I see is happy people, enjoying the moment, involved with the team and having a bond with the club. This is what we want. Let’s enjoy it but keep our feet on the ground because Saturday is going to be another big test for us.”
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