Replacing a Nottingham Forest hero was never going to be easy but Nuno Espírito Santo did a very cunning thing after Steve Cooper’s sacking: he won his first two games. A lot is forgotten about the opening six months of Nuno’s tenure, when the team survived one place above the relegation zone and went through a period of winning once in 10 Premier League matches.
Nuno had done the important thing of boosting morale and winning over the fans by defeating Newcastle away and creating excitement by beating Manchester United at home, and no one was clamouring for style points. The City Ground was rocking in late December 2023, and no home fans cared too much that they saw only two more victories there for the remainder of the season.
