The Forest boss spoke to the media ahead of his side’s Premier League clash against West Ham.
Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed that some of his squad are doubts ahead of Nottingham Forest‘s home fixture against West Ham on Saturday.
Forest are looking for a third successive league victory, following a 3-1 away win over East Midlands rivals Leicester last time out.
It sees the Reds sit impressively in seventh on 19 points, with a chance to move into the top four if results go in their favour.
The threat to those ambitions comes in the shape of West Ham, who are still looking to find consistency under new boss Julen Lopetegui.
Despite a 2-1 victory over Man United last weekend, the Hammers are yet to put a consistent run together, having lost four of their opening nine matches.
The hosts meanwhile have only tasted defeat once this term and look to keep the record straight come Saturday evening.
Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s clash, Espirito Santo delved into all about his squad, as well as other topics on the Forest agenda.
Team News
Despite the brilliant run of form, it has been no secret that Forest have been missing key names to injury and suspension, especially in midfield.
At current, the Reds have just three first-team midfielders declared fully fit and available.
The likes of Ibrahim Sangare and Danilo are out with longer-term injuries, while Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliott Anderson are considered doubts for the weekend.
Espirito Santo spoke on the heath of his squad and admitted that there will still be some last-minute assessments.
“Yeah we have some issues we’re still assessing with one day to go, it’s always the same after a long period in the season and some hard matches,” he said.
“Players get knocks and all these things, injuries and players coming back. We have to assess them tomorrow.”
The aforementioned Gibbs-White’s return has been highly anticipated, given his absence due to a three-match ban from being sent off at Brighton.
His chances of a first-team return were discussed as well as the other key names said to be doubtful.
“He’s one of the players in that group that we have to assess and see how he is. Chris [Wood] also and Elliott, Jota [Silva], people that have knocks.”
“James [Ward-Prowse] is not available, Danilo is out, Ibrahim Sangare is out also. So we are short on numbers.
“We have Elliott and Morgan to assess, important players for us but problems we have to find solutions.”
Chris Wood in fine fettle
A huge part of Forest’s brilliant start has been down to the form of Chris Wood, who ranks joint-third in the Premier League scoring charts with seven.
In proportion to Forest, his goals are responsible for 63% of the team’s attacking output, highlighting his high-performance levels.
The 33-year-old’s brace proved instrumental in the win over Leicester, continuing the team’s trend of remaining unbeaten when he scored.
Having recently been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month, Espírito Santo was quizzed on whether Wood is receiving enough plaudits.
“What he has is a huge amount of respect from all of us because he’s a top professional and he delivers from so many situations.
“He’s always looking to score, his movement is very good and he’s being helped by his teammates.”
The New Zealand international’s contract is up at the end of the season, with the speculation rising to whether he will stay.
Remaining tight-lipped on the process of a new deal for his star man, the Forest boss reiterated his value to the team.
“Nothing changes. Chris is okay, he’s doing fantastic for us, this is more important. What it means to have him in the team, his goals, his work, all things will happen naturally.”
Still looking to improve
Forest’s style is different to many of their possession-based competitors as it focuses on a tight defensive structure first and foremost, before looking to impact the opposition.
That approach has the Reds thriving in the European places, having recorded the league’s second-best defence.
It has unsurprisingly led to plenty of plaudits, which Espirito Santo was keen to brush aside.
“You know that when compliments are too much, they can distract us. It’s our job to try and avoid that and stick to our plan and work hard, nothing else matters.
“The results cannot hide that we still have issues and problems, and we want to improve.
“There are details to be addressed, and this is what we’ve been doing this week. Looking at all details but mainly preparing ourselves for a very tough match.”
Espirito Santo’s record against against West Ham suggests otherwise, having picked up five wins from his eight meetings with the East London outfit.
Stats aside, the Forest manager was complementary of this weekend’s opponents and highlighted the threats his side needs to watch for.
“They come in on a high [Beating Man United] and they are a good group of players, experienced players and have a very good manager. It’s always so tough.
“I think they have everything in their squad. Experience, quality, attacking threat. They have individuals who can be very dangerous and they are strong from set-pieces.”
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