Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo says Nottingham Forest’s full focus must be on building for next season as he addressed speculation about his future.
Sunday’s final-day 1-0 defeat to Chelsea meant the Reds missed out on potential Champions League or Europa League qualification. Instead, their seventh-placed finish in the Premier League means they will be in Europe’s Conference League next term.
Qualifying for European football of any form still represents significant progress for Forest after their first two campaigns back in the top flight were spent battling relegation. But that has not prevented talk about Nuno’s future at the club.
The Portuguese was linked with Serie A side Roma last week, although Italian publications went on to dismiss those reports. Nuno had already given the rumours short shrift in his pre-match press conference prior to facing the Blues, but he was again asked about his future after the match.
“Look, this is not the moment to speak about me, not even think about me,” he told Sky Sports. “It is about the club and the idea for next season.”
In a mark of how far they have come, Forest were left frustrated and disappointed at missing out on finishing in the top five. The goal is to be challenging at that end of the table regularly, though, and Nuno believes solid foundations are in place to do that.
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“We are in a good place,” he said. “The platform we have is good. Now it is time to reflect and start working on the future.”
Nuno signed a two-and-a-half-year deal when he replaced Steve Cooper at the City Ground helm in December 2023. Earlier this year the suggestion was a new deal could be on the cards but that any discussions would be put on hold until the summer.
On being linked with Roma, Nuno had said prior to Sunday’s match: “Do you really think I'm going to waste time on that? So many things to think about and so much to get ready.
“My main focus is on preparing the team, trying to get the best solutions and details for the players. Nothing else.”
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