Nuno Espirito Santo says Nottingham Forest still in control of top-five chase
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Nottingham Forest's Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo gesturing on the touchline during the 1-0 English Premier League defeat by Everton at The City Ground in Nottingham, on April 12.
PHOTO: AFP
LONDON – Nuno Espirito Santo says Nottingham Forest’s Champions League qualification bid is still “in our hands” despite back-to-back English Premier League defeats.
Losses to Aston Villa and Everton over the past two weeks have seen Forest slip from third to sixth, with just six games to go, after the fixtures on April 20.
Just two points separate third-placed Newcastle (59) from Villa in seventh spot.
Newcastle, Manchester City and Villa are all hitting form as they chase a top-five finish that would guarantee qualification for Europe’s elite club competition next season, with Chelsea also in the mix.
Two-time European champions Forest are behind Chelsea and ahead of Villa on goal difference with all on 57 points, and they play at Tottenham Hotspur on April 21.
Nuno, whose side had occupied a top-four spot since December, said at his pre-match press conference on April 17 that his men would not go quietly.
“Nothing has changed since last week – it is up to us, it’s in our hands, we can’t control other teams, we can’t control the results. We have to focus, and it’s about improvement. Now it’s about reacting and improving,” he said.
“The expectation around us started the moment we were able to perform and get results. We embrace the challenges, we are not stepping back. We are stepping in. We want to embrace it. We want to try and get it.”
Forest have not played in Europe’s elite competition since the 1980-81 season, when they were two-time defending champions under former manager Brian Clough.
Spurs, on the hand, are having a wretched league campaign, closer to the relegation places than the European spots. They have dropped to 16th ahead of Forest’s visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, embattled manager Ange Postecoglou got a bit of a reprieve in midweek when they reached the Europa League semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
The north London side will be favourites to reach May’s final in Bilbao, having been drawn against the tournament’s surprise packages Bodo/Glimt in the last four.
Said Postecoglou: “Fair bit of joy in the dressing room after. Obviously, we had to pack up and get going pretty quickly. It’s important you enjoy those moments when they come along.
“It’s fair to say it’s been challenging, but I think part of that challenge is the rotation in the team and, to be fair, it’s going to be similar on Monday night.
“We’re going to have to make five or six changes to the team because we want to make sure everyone is in the right space.”
He will be without injured captain Son Heung-min while James Maddison is a doubt. Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi face late fitness tests for Forest. AFP
