Nuno Espírito Santo wants his Forest side to take the game to Manchester United as the Red Devils visit The City Ground on Saturday.
The Reds returned to winning ways with an excellent 3-1 win against Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Boxing Day, and will now look to build on that in their final game of 2023.
Nuno met the media this week to discuss an array of topics ahead of Saturday's match...
On the mood in the dressing room
“Everything is easier when you achieve a good performance like we did.
“We want to keep growing and improving and the Newcastle win was a big moment for us.”
On his message to the squad
“We have to improve and we have to keep on going.
“We are getting to know each other, we know it’s still early days.
“As training sessions and games go by, we’re getting to know the players more and what they can give us to try and achieve what we want.”
On Ibrahim Sangaré’s suspension
“He had a good game against Newcastle.
“After his situation with the illness, we knew that he wasn’t able to play 90 minutes, but what we wanted from him, he delivered.
“We want everything he can give as long as he is able to with his fitness levels.”
On Manchester United…
“It’s a big club with fantastic players.
“We know it’s going to be hard, we saw what they did against Aston Villa and how they came from behind to change the game.
“We expect a difficult game, so we have to take care of all these details of the Man United team because they are so good.
“But we are at The City Ground, we’re coming back from a good game, so we want to compete well.
“We have to be positive and go for the game. We saw that in the second half at St. James’ Park with our fans singing Mull of Kintyre. To hear that gives us a boost.
“We’re going to be at The City Ground and our priority is to be ourselves.”
On the identity of his team…
“It’s very soon. It’s been two games and not too many training sessions.
“We know the quality we have in our players, it’s just trying to take the best out of each one of them in the right moments so they can deliver to the team.
“We’re in the process of trying to achieve an identity, but like I said, it’s very early days.
“I think we will reach that level, it will take time and it will need the commitment of everybody. It’s a big squad, but the talent is there and we need to improve it.”
On Morgan Gibbs-White…
“Morgan had an amazing game at Newcastle, but also against Bournemouth.
“He started in a more advanced position, he dropped into midfield and he delivered, he fights.
“Morgan is quality, he has the talent and special abilities to help the team.
“He was captain of the team against Newcastle which is a big responsibility for a young boy, but he did well.”