Nottingham Forest are fighting to qualify for Europe for the first time in almost 30 years, in what will be the next stage of owner Evangelos Marinakis’s burning ambition to establish the club as a major force.
Marinakis is determined to write a glorious new chapter in the history of the two-time European Cup winners after investing nearly £300 million on players since promotion to the Premier League.
The Greek businessman will be in attendance for Forest’s home match against second-placed Arsenal on Wednesday, ahead of a pivotal period in the season.
Forest are still in contention for a place in next season’s Champions League, after occupying the top four for more than nine weeks.
So far, they have defied the critics who claimed they would fall away with the Christmas decorations. Three defeats from the last four Premier League matches have fuelled the doubts of those who believe Nuno Espirito Santo’s team are suffering an untimely wobble – despite a remarkable 7-0 thrashing of Brighton in that sequence.
Forest have operated under pressure ever since they were promoted from the Championship in 2022, but this is a different level. While most supporters will have happily settled for a top-10 finish before a ball was kicked, it would be a bitter disappointment if Forest’s stirring season fizzled out now.
Along with Arne Slot at Liverpool and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Nuno has written one of the stories of the season.
Ahead of the visit from Arsenal, Nuno has admitted there will be many twists and turns in the final 12 games. “The game has so many unpredictable moments that you cannot control, nobody knows what to expect,” he said. “There is a fight all over the table.
“The teams who now have a big gap can win three or four in a row and everything changes. You come from a good result and expect to achieve it in the next game against a team in the bottom half of the table – it goes the other way round and you get surprised.
“I still believe the most difficult thing is to sustain it [across a season]. This is what I remind our players: our first goal is to bounce back from the last performance and try to raise our standards and perform better. It’s not about our position in the table.”
Perhaps Forest’s achievements so far have to be given some more context. It has to be remembered that in the previous two years they avoided relegation on the penultimate and final matchday respectively.
Last season was excruciating, with a four-point deduction and a campaign beset by what was perceived within Forest as continual poor refereeing. How many other clubs in recent times have then followed that up by challenging for a European place?
Forest are proof promoted clubs can flourish
For all the recent focus on the futility of promoted teams failing to bridge the gap from the Championship, Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham are the outliers to that debate. Admittedly, Marinakis has invested money but their shrewd recruitment over the last 18 months proves clubs can flourish in the top division with proper planning.
This is now a vital stage of the season, with the Arsenal match followed in the league by the visit of Manchester City. Beyond that, there are also matches against other potential European chasers in Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford, and what could be a seismic final-day encounter with Chelsea.
Forest will just be hoping to still be in the conversation for Europe – or to have even already qualified – when Chelsea roll into town on May 25.
Nuno will not change. He will stay wedded to his mantra of taking each game at a time, which has flowed into the dressing room.
Make no mistake, though: everyone at Forest knows what is at stake, and what an opportunity they have in their own hands.
