Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo sounds extremely concerned about his squad ahead of the new Premier League season, saying they are ‘very, very far’ from where they need to be.
Forest had an excellent season last time round, finishing seventh in the table and qualifying for European football as a result.
Thanks to a well organised defence and Chris Wood scoring regularly, Espirito Santo’s team spend a lot of the season in the top four, upsetting the odds as many had them down as likely relegation battlers.
There have been some exits over the summer, most notably Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £55m and Danilo to Botafogo, but Forest have managed to keep the majority of last season’s successful team together.
Tottenham were interested in Morgan Gibbs-White, but the midfielder has signed a new contract and stayed put.
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There have also been new signings in the shapes of Dan Ndoye from Bologna, while Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha have arrived from Botafogo.
However, the manager is not happy with how things are going, feeling his team is underprepared and there are players in his squad that should not be.
Forest host Brentford on Sunday in their season opener and the Bees will surely be boosted by how the Portuguese coach is speaking.
‘We are very far – very, very far – from where we should be,’ Espirito Santo told Sky. ‘We are very far in terms of preparation, in terms of planning, in terms of the squad.
‘So we are all very worried that in two or three days time we are playing for the Premier League, the most demanding competition in the world. And we are very far. Very, very far.
‘The plans that we had didn’t come through. The preparation in terms of squad was not ideal. We didn’t have a chance to create the bond – and this is what I think is more important.
‘Because we don’t know which squad we have. We have players working here that know they’re going to leave on loan. We have a major problem.’
Forest have been very busy in pre-season in terms of friendlies, but the results have not been good.
Five of their seven friendlies have finished goalless, while the others saw them lose to Fulham and Birmingham City.
A boost for Forest will be that Brentford forward Yoane Wissa will not be playing this weekend after prolonged transfer speculation this summer and the forward reportedly pushing for a move to Newcastle.
Manager Keith Andrews confirmed that he will not be including Wissa at the City Ground, telling a pre-match press conference: ‘I’ve made the decision that he’s not [available]. It’s been a very disruptive pre-season and everyone is aware of that.
‘There’s been interest in Yoane and I’ve been very clear on the situation. As a head coach, I want Yoane in the building and I want him to be a part of the first-team squad.
‘I’m very understanding of his situation and I’ve got a very good relationship with him, but we have to focus on the players that are ready to play and perform on Sunday, and I don’t think Yoane’s in that place.’
