It appears like Nuno Espirito Santo has already overturned one of Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest rulings.
After taking over as manager for Cooper for a two-and-a-half-year contract, the Portuguese manager attended his first training session at the team today. A video of Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna training with the first team squad was shared by the club on X.
In terms of tactical practice sessions, the two have not been practicing with their teammates under Cooper’s supervision lately. However, Nuno can be seen watching as the two defenders engage in a passing drill on Forest’s video.
Club captain Worrall has not featured since the 2-2 draw with Luton Town on October 21. McKenna has not figured for Forest since the 1-1 City Ground draw with Burnley on September 18.
Nuno will be unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Forest confirmed his arrival this morning in a statement which read: “Nottingham Forest can today confirm the appointment of Nuno Espírito Santo as first team head coach.
“Nuno joins the club on a two-and-a-half-year contract and will take charge of his first match on Saturday when Forest face Bournemouth at The City Ground.
“Having managed over 460 games in his career, including in the Premier League, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Europa League, the 49-year-old brings a plethora of knowledge to the team.
Before taking over Valencia in 2014, Nuno started his management career with Rio Ave, where he led the Portuguese team to two cup finals and their first-ever Europa League qualifying.
After leading the Spanish team to a fourth-place La Liga finish in 2014–15, he took over as manager of Porto for a year, winning 27 of his 49 games in that capacity.
Nuno relocated to England in 2017 after taking over as Wolverhampton Wanderers’ manager. He guided Wolves into the Premier League during his four seasons at Molineux when they won the Sky Bet Championship. Their first two seasons back in the top level ended with them finishing seventh and eighth, respectively.
“Nuno also brought Wolves into Europe, leading them to the Europa League quarterfinals in 2019–20; his departure in 2021 ended an outstanding tenure in the West Midlands.”
Nuno comes to The City Ground having most recently managed in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, where he guided the team to league and domestic cup honors last season. Nuno had previously held management positions with Tottenham Hotspur during the 2021/22 campaign.
The squad will have its first training session under the new head coach this morning as they get ready for The Reds’ Premier League match against Bournemouth at The City Ground on Saturday (15:00 kickoff).”
