One more win will almost certainly keep Nottingham Forest in the Premier League but their prospects beyond that are far less clear.
There are doubts about the manager, their spending power and the future of key players.
Nuno Espirito Santo replaced Steve Cooper last December with a simple brief: keep Forest up. During is brief tenure, Nuno has seen his team docked four points for breaking spending rules and witnessed his employers arguing regularly with referees and the Premier League.
‘It has been hard for us to manage all the situations,’ said the Forest boss. ‘The points deduction, the players that went to the Africa Cup of Nations, the referees. The only way we can do things is on the pitch. That is the big advantage we have. It is in our hands to achieve the final objective.’
The situation will improve if Forest’s appeal against their penalty is successful. The club expect to hear tomorrow and even one extra point could prove crucial. Yet survival would bring more questions.
One more win will almost certainly keep Nottingham Forest in the Premier League after thrashing Sheffield United at the weekend
Callum Hudson-Odoi struck twice as Forest navigated their way to a 3-1 win over Sheffield United
Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo was brought to the club tasked with keeping them in the Premier League
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Though the attacking football has improved under Nuno, the defensive numbers are grim: one clean sheet in 21 and 23 goals conceded from set-pieces, albeit some of those were during Cooper’s tenure.
Nuno signed a two-and-a-half-year deal and is the highest-paid manager in the history of the club, but his position will be reviewed at the end of the season. Whoever is in charge may have to manage a weakened squad.
Nuno signed a two-and-a-half-year deal and is the highest-paid manager in the history of the club
As Forest try to stay within the spending rules limits, star defender Murillo is likely to be sold and they may listen to offers for Morgan Gibbs-White.
There will definitely be an overhaul of the playing squad at Sheffield United.
Having led the Blades to the Premier League in 2019, Chris Wilder knows what it takes to escape the Championship but doubts the mentality of some of his current players.
There are a few gems, and midfielder Gustavo Hamer will surely have offers to stay in the top division, but most of the Blades squad are of Championship standard.
