Belief is growing at the City Ground that Nottingham Forest can continue to compete at the top end of the table, but head coach Nuno Espirito Santo is keen to remain level-headed.
The Reds made it four wins on the spin in the Premier League for the first time since 1995 by beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in an entertaining Boxing Day clash. Anthony Elanga’s goal proved to be the difference but the hosts were also reliant on goalkeeper Matz Sels making some big saves.
The three points lifted Forest to third in the table at the final whistle. And Nuno says it is evidence of the progress the team have been able to make since having a full pre-season together.
“This progress started when we started working together at the beginning of the season,” said the Portuguese. “I think we still have things to improve on, even though we are starting to realise that we are now dealing with the momentum of the game better.
“The table doesn’t mean anything. What is significant for us is what we felt today - the City Ground fans singing as they left. This is what is beautiful for us, that they can go out in the city and enjoy this moment.
“The belief is here. But the belief doesn’t hide the reality, and the reality says we haven’t achieved anything yet. We have two days to recover, rest and compete against Everton on Sunday.
“We believe that we can compete, as long as everybody understands that every player in the squad is huge for us - especially with the schedule we have. We believe we can compete well.
“It was a good performance. We spoke about the quality of the Spurs team and the fact they score a lot of goals.
“The final moments of the game was about defending and sticking to the result. The belief and the commitment of the players to avoid any kind of danger was good.
“What can I say about the help of the fans at the City Ground? Today was really special. It is huge for us that we are now starting to see this bond that makes us stronger.”