Nuno Espirito Santo, the head coach of Nottingham Forest, has encouraged Chris Wood, a striker, to build on his hat-trick against Newcastle.
After witnessing striker Chris Wood squander a hat-trick to defeat former side Newcastle, Nuno Espirito Santo is backing Wood to propel Nottingham Forest out of Premier League difficulties.
The New Zealand international, who played a part in Newcastle’s top-flight survival battle two seasons ago and left Tyneside for the City Ground this summer, only scored once for the Magpies in 20 games at St. James’ Park, but he trebled that on a memorable afternoon to secure a 3-1 Boxing Day victory.
When asked if the 32-year-old could have a big season, Espirito Santo, the new head coach, responded, “I think so, I really believe so.”
“He repeated what he did yesterday and again today. It’s not only about him; it’s about how we want to go about things to give him opportunities. It’s about the team supporting him. But right now, I’m overjoyed with him.
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Nuno supports Chris Wood, the hat-trick hero, to propel Nottingham Forest to safety. “Everyone knows Chris Wood,” Nuno says. Although he has been playing for some time, the way he performed today—scoring goals and positioning himself at key moments—especially the second goal, which is exquisite, it’s beautiful, the one v one and then the composure to just flick the ball over the goalkeeper, so thank you Chris for the job today.
“I really hope that he does it again because the talent is there.”
Espirito Santo, whose first game in charge on Saturday ended in a 3-2 home defeat by Bournemouth, might have feared the worst when the Magpies took an early lead courtesy of Alexander Isak’s 23rd-minute penalty.
However, they were pegged back in stoppage time after Anthony Elanga crossed for Wood to level from close range, and that proved only the prelude to a disastrous afternoon for the hosts.
Elanga, who tormented full-back Dan Burn throughout, and Morgan Gibbs-White repeatedly split an unusually porous home rearguard, and Wood took full advantage with two more expert finishes after the break to hand his new boss a first win and extend his managerial record against the Magpies to eight games without defeat.
Espirito Santo said: “It feels very good and the boys are very happy. But it was hard and we have to congratulate them because they did fantastic work. I think we played well and it was a well-deserved win.”
Opposite number Eddie Howe, whose side have now lost six of their last seven games in all competitions and slipped out of the Champions League and perhaps even the race for a top-four finish, was reflective after another difficult afternoon.
Howe said: “We weren’t quite at our best today and in the Premier League when you’re not, you get punished.
“Whenever you lose games, that’s an uncomfortable feeling for you; whenever your team is not at its peak, it’s an uncomfortable feeling.
“But we have to remain reflective and we have to make the right decisions for the team in the next few days to make sure we’re ready for our next game.
“I don’t think physically we’re at our best. I think that’s obvious and I think I would be lying if I said otherwise.”
