Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has rubbished claims he is trying to manipulate a move away from the club, insisting his only focus is preparing his players.
Speaking to Sky Sports in the build-up to Sunday’s Premier League match at Crystal Palace, the Portuguese coach was asked directly if he was attempting to engineer an exit.
‘That’s nonsense. Doesn’t make any kind of sense,’ he replied. ‘We are focused on the game and that is more important. Make sure that the players are ready. This game is going to be very tough.’
Pressed on whether he wants to remain in charge at the City Ground, Espirito Santo was emphatic. ‘Of course! Of course,’ he said.
He also confirmed that he has held discussions with Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis and new global head of football Edu about transfer plans. ‘Yes, that’s what we need to do and we’re going to do it,’ he said.
And on mounting speculation over his future, he added: ‘There is no speculation around anything. What we have to do is communicate and approach the final days of the market and prepare our boys.’
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo pictured arriving at Selhurst Park on Sunday
Espirito Santo’s future at Forest was under scrutiny ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game
Just two days before Sunday’s game, Espirito Santo publicly claimed that his relationship with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis (left) was ‘not so good’
Man City
Tottenham
*18+, excludes NI. Terms and conditions apply
Espirito Santo’s comments came just two days after he threw his own position into doubt by publicly admitting his relationship with Marinakis was ‘not so good’.
The 50-year-old told reporters on Friday that while he and the Greek tycoon had been ‘very, very, very close’ last season, speaking almost on a daily basis, that bond had deteriorated this summer.
‘Our relationship has changed,’ Espirito Santo admitted. ‘It’s not so close, it’s not on a daily basis. It’s not good. I think everybody at the club should be together but it’s not the reality.’
Those remarks are understood to have stunned the billionaire owner and reignited speculation over the Portuguese coach’s future. Some inside the City Ground fear Espirito Santo could even be attempting to engineer his own exit, while others have suggested Marinakis is already considering alternatives.
Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers are among the names linked should Forest make a change. Both men are admired by Marinakis, who was in the stands for his side’s 3-1 opening-day win at Brentford.
Behind the scenes, tensions are thought to centre on the recent arrival of Edu as global head of football to oversee recruitment across Marinakis’s multi-club network. It has been claimed that disagreements over transfer strategy have led to heated exchanges, with Espirito Santo feeling his influence on signings has been reduced.
It is not the first sign of friction. Marinakis stormed onto the City Ground pitch after a 2-2 draw with Leicester last season to berate his manager in full view of supporters, an incident the club later downplayed as concern for striker Taiwo Awoniyi’s wellbeing.
Yet, for all the upheaval, Marinakis has shown heavy backing in the transfer market, sanctioning more than £100million worth of deals in recent weeks to bring in the likes of Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Douglas Luiz.
