Nuno Espírito Santo is proud of his players for their performance against Manchester United and extended his gratitude to the Forest supporters for their role in spurring the team on to a famous win.
The head coach has enjoyed a successful start to his tenure but is determined to stay grounded as he insists the work has only just begun.
“I’m very proud of the players,” said Espírito Santo. “Let's enjoy it of course, everybody, the players and the fans, but let's stay humble because this is a long way.
“Thank you to the fans, thank you for the atmosphere at The City Ground, it was so important. Immediately the noise came and the players felt the boost and they went for the game. It's amazing and I cannot thank the fans enough.”
Forest took the lead through Nicolás Domínguez and then recovered quickly from Marcus Rashford’s equaliser to regain the advantage late on through Morgan Gibbs-White.
“The first goal was well played, well combined,” continued the head coach. “Gonzalo came inside, it was a good pass and a good finish. The second goal was a counter-attack, the spaces were there and we know that when we have spaces, the players have the talent.
“Credit to the players because they needed to react [to the equaliser]. The belief of the players, the confidence that they must have. It's about the talent and at the same time it’s about the organization together to become a better team. So, step by step, we're going to try to improve.”
Following a busy start to his tenure over the Christmas period, Espírito Santo now has more time to work with his squad, with short break following this weekend’s FA Cup third round tie against Blackpool.
“It's going to be very important,” he said. “First, we have to recover the players because they made a fantastic effort. The players that go into to the AFCON, let's wish that they come back healthy. And then it's the time to regroup and prepare well for the FA Cup against Blackpool.
“Then we have this period to work. There's no other way to improve, we have to work. Every day in the training ground is important, every minute is important. We're already starting to see that they are helping each other, working for each other, and that must be the spirit. So let's take advantage of this period to work not only the aspects on the pitch, but also our togetherness as a group.”