The future of Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest is uncertain after a chaotic press conference on Friday afternoon.
Forest play Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this afternoon in a game that will be about more than football, with both clubs in a legal dispute this summer, ending with the Eagles being kicked out of the Europa League at the expense of Forest.
The talk ahead of the game will be on Espirito Santo, however, with some question marks now cast over his future at the football club, following his comments on Evangelos Marinakis.
Ange Postecoglou is being eyed by Forest and a tactically inept Australian could be disastrous for all of the good work that the Reds have done since sacking Steve Cooper in December 2023.
However, all might not be lost, with some quotes later in the press conference offering some hope for Forest fans that Espirito Santo might stay.
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
The fan base are unanimous that Espirito Santo should be kept at all costs, not least due to the fact that Postecoglou appears to be waiting in the wings at the City Ground.
There were some comments away from the sensational lines that the media used that did offer some hope for supporters that Espirito Santo wanted to resolve these issues, however.
On the club’s new signings, he told BBC Radio Nottingham: “The squad is now getting much closer to completion but it’s not there yet. We need another option for the goalkeeper and in the full-backs we need more as well. These players are going to be useful no doubt about it. We need to integrate them and I do think they can help us.”
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Clearly, Espirito Santo is still talking about the ‘we’ when it comes to Forest and that can only bode well and there was a further hint that things might get resolved behind the scenes.
He continued: “What can I say to the fans? I appreciate the respect. Always. The feeling that they have towards me, I just have to thank them for that. I love the fans.”
Espirito Santo must remain at Forest
Whether it’s Edu causing the rift with Espirito Santo or not, Marinakis needs to bang some heads together and get Forest back on track.
Espirito Santo has done remarkable things at Forest and led Forest to a seventh-place finish last season, with the Portuguese boss deserving to take the Reds into Europe this season.
The comments are positive if you dig deeper into the press conference and it will be fascinating to see if a resolution can be sought after the game today.
In the immediate future, Forest have to focus on Crystal Palace and after Eberechi Eze was announced as an Arsenal player, today does feel like a very winnable game.