After a tumultuous fight against the drop last season, the manager has made smart changes and instilled firm bonds. It is just over a year since Nuno Espírito Santo arrived at the City Ground with the task of turning the ship around. The Portuguese found Nottingham Forest in a battle for survival, sitting one place above the relegation zone, which is exactly where they finished the season, confirming their top-flight status only on the final day. It was an effective first few months in charge but did not suggest Forest would become Champions League challengers as 2025 approaches.
![[Nikola Milenkovic wins an aerial duel with Dominic Solanke of Spurs.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/14855f2504d0d6eb4581fab7cc0cff6268df399a/0_17_2996_1798/master/2996.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Forest visit Goodison Park on Sunday, the scene of their lowest moment since returning to the Premier League in 2022 when an emotional social media post from the club’s X account lambasted the officials during Everton’s 2-0 victory in April. At that point Forest looked like a circus and the prospect of reacquainting themselves with the Championship was a serious possibility, but they did just enough by winning four of their final 18 games.
![[Elliott Anderson on the ball during the Premier League match at Brentford which Nottingham Forest won 2-0]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a72e754c87f640f83b55564fb50277247efba297/0_174_4200_2520/master/4200.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Eight months on the club’s X account is used for marking victories, having already surpassed last season’s tally. What started as a surprising run has become a genuine push for European qualification that took them to third after defeating Tottenham on Boxing Day for a fourth successive victory. It was always the aim of their ambitious owner, Evangelos Marinakis, to normalise winning, eventually achieving this shift in mentality, even if the strategy has not always been obvious.
