Nuno Espirito Santo’s favourite part about match days comes immediately after the final whistle has blown. Following a Nottingham Forest win, of course.
Although usually fairly understated in his celebrations, do not underestimate how much those moments mean to the Reds head coach. “The best thing that I feel is when we win the game and I'm able to walk and applaud the fans,” he has said.
Whether it be circuiting the City Ground pitch or heading over to the away end if his team have been on the road, Nuno has been able to do that quite a lot this season. Certainly more than last term, following his appointment in December 2023.
The first few months of Nuno’s tenure were challenging, to say the least. Not only were Forest battling relegation, they also had a points deduction and several refereeing controversies to contend with. Nuno looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
By contrast, more often than not this season the man in charge has cut a happy and relaxed figure. He has frequently talked of his enjoyment and pride at being in the Trentside hot seat.
He has been full of smiles. He hasn’t been afraid to show off his dance moves, either, as a dressing room video taken by Ola Aina after victory over Manchester City proved. Or his diving skills, as was the case during a warm-weather training camp in Dubai earlier this year.
It is in the dugout and on the training ground where he has really come alive, though. The 51-year-old is the first Reds boss to guide the club into Europe since Frank Clark managed the feat in the Uefa Cup three decades ago.
It is difficult to overstate just how impressive an achievement that is. Much of this term has been spent mixing it with the big boys and upsetting the established order. Forget about the frustrating dip in form towards the end, the entire campaign has been nothing short of remarkable.
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Overseeing it all has been Nuno. The group he has had to work with is not that much different from the one which officially secured survival on the final day of last season, but every last drop has been wrung out of them.
After another year in the Premier League had been confirmed when Forest beat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor last May, a relieved - and no doubt exhausted - Nuno promised himself a few beers in celebration. Back then, the jury was still out on the former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur boss. The Reds hadn’t exactly convinced.
There can be no doubts about the job he has done now. One of the soundtracks to the season has been the chant from Forest fans about going out drinking with the Portuguese.
Nuno knew he had the basis of a strong squad in place 12 months ago. “When you think about building, the platform is there. The platform is there,” he had said.
Talk to anyone at the City Ground - players, head coach or staff - and they will tell you that what happened in the summer of 2024 proved to be key. Nuno got a proper chance to work with the group, and he more than made the most of it. Pre-season and specifically a trip to Spain, where bonds were forged and ideas were worked upon, provided the basis for everything that has followed.
“Nuno got to have a proper pre-season and that’s made a huge difference,” winger Anthony Elanga has said. “He got his ideas in early and we bought into them.”
Forest have had a clear identity this season. Much has been made about the amount of possession they have had in games, but that ignores the fact the Reds have been a thoroughly entertaining watch.
When Forest have the ball, they know how to use it. There is no messing about, they get it forward and are capable of punishing even the best of opposition.
Generally a cool, calm and collected character who can be somewhat philosophical at times, Nuno has also instilled a work ethic into his team. They are all fully invested in the cause and give their all from first minute until last. Even when results have not gone their way, there has been no shortage of effort or commitment out there on the pitch.
“No one is left behind, he’s with all of us. If he sees you fall he will help you out,” defender Murillo has said. “He cares for all of us and he wants us all on the same wavelength.
“He’s one of the funniest managers I’ve had too, he jokes with everyone and loves a laugh. It’s always fun to be around him and listen to his stories too.
“We have a relationship based on trust, I can talk to him about anything and the same for him with me, and he’s created this bond with other players in the team. The players are all uniting behind his ideas.”
The players know their manager believes in them - indeed, Chris Wood has publicly stated that backing has been central to his own goalscoring form. Any time the spotlight has fallen on Nuno, he has turned it back on his squad.
Take his Premier League Manager of the Month awards, for example - and he has won three of them, more than any of his contemporaries this term. Such accolades were met with superstition during Nuno’s spells at Wolves and Spurs; he refused to physically touch the trophies. But when he was presented with the gong for October, one member of staff described how he lifted it aloft as though it were the World Cup.
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And he wanted others to share in the moment, too. Nuno and Wood (who was crowned Player of the Month) made sure the whole playing squad and staff were present when the celebratory pictures were taken at training.
When he claimed the title for December, Nuno requested that everyone at the club received acknowledgement for the hard work put in. Training ground staff and those based at the City Ground were invited pitchside for a team photograph.
For his March win, it was the turn of supporters to get in on the act. At the insistence of Nuno and his staff, 150 or so Reds fans were invited to the stadium to, as the club put it, “accept the award as a collective”. The subsequent photo, which also included the first team and coaching staff, reiterated the importance of unity - something Nuno has driven home throughout.
That connection with supporters has been a key part of the spirit the head coach has created. He knows just how important the fans have been and will be in the future.
“The fans deserve everything that we can give them,” Nuno has said. “This is why we work, for the fans to be with us so we can compete and help each other. The fans are everything to us."
No wonder the Reds chief is the choice of many for Premier League Manager of the Season. There was a question mark over how much he had improved the team in the second half of last term. This time around, though, it is staggering the strides they have made. More than progress, this has been a transformation.
Forest were many a pundit’s pick to go down this year. Instead, they will spend the summer planning for a European tour for the first time in a generation. As Nuno’s first full season at the helm, part one of the Reds’ adventure under the Portuguese has been special. But the second act could be even more memorable.
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