The secrets behind Forest’s rise: How more data nerds, window wizardry and BOILED EGGS turned Nuno Espirito Santo’s ‘band of brothers’ from the league’s laughing stock to high-flyers

Everyone likes to laugh at Nottingham Forest, right?

Buying players by the busload and not bothering to tell the manager. Eventually deducting points because someone forgot to do the sums. Using X to hint at legal action against refereeing board PGMOL because they were unhappy with a few refereeing decisions.

At 5pm on Saturday night, however, the only ones smiling were the Forest players. Pure childlike enthusiasm shone in the eyes of Brazilian defender Murillo after helping Forest win at Liverpool for the first time since 1969.

‘A band of brothers’ is how insiders described the team as they celebrated the 1-0 win. The Anfield tunnel was a hive of hugs and high-fives between a group of young men genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

In the dressing room, Ola Aina teased match-winner Callum Hudson-Odoi about his fondness for boiled eggs, a running joke since the club’s training camp in Murcia, southern Spain. Tommy Richman’s Million Dollar Baby blared from the speakers.

Although he was away from Anfield, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had watched the game on TV and quickly called his colleagues at the stadium to congratulate them.

Marinakis is thinking big. Greek giants Olympiacos, also owned by him, won the Europa Conference League last season and Marinakis believes Forest can qualify for Europe in the medium term. If a plan to buy the City Ground freehold for £8.5m is approved, the capacity could be expanded to more than 40,000.

Marinakis’ model is Aston Villa, who qualified for the Conference League four years after promotion from the Championship and are now in the Champions League. If Forest were to emulate Villa, they would be in Europe’s elite competition in three years’ time, and that doesn’t feel unmanageable.

Just four games into the season, it’s too early to say Marinakis has had the last laugh, but he has certainly changed some perceptions — and not just at Liverpool, where Reds manager Arne Slot grumbled about Forest’s “low block”. That’s the sure sign of a manager who’s been outwitted and feels the need to intervene to hide his own shame.

Newcastle were also not amused when Forest, knowing that Marinakis had them in his power due to Premier League rules, poached their own talent Elliot Anderson for £35m in June and managed to sell Odysseas Vlachodimos, a goalkeeper they no longer wanted, for £20m. Marinakis knew that he had them in his power due to Premier League spending rules.

They were also stunned when Forest turned down a £55million offer for winger Anthony Elanga, not least because boss Nuno Espirito Santo sees the winger as vital to the spirit he is trying to build. ‘We need them to become friends,’ Nuno told the club staff when he was hired in December last year. ‘Once they become friends, they become a family.’

Twenty years after the death of Brian Clough, who created an unbreakable team spirit during his 18 years at Forest, this feels like an apt statement.

It is an echo of what Nuno achieved at Wolves, the Portuguese captaining the club to promotion in 2018 and a seventh-place finish in the top flight, as well as reaching an FA Cup semi-final and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

As at Wolves, Nuno dictates that players eat at the same time and spend as much time together as possible, and Forest have obliged with a major overhaul of their training ground. The dining area has been transformed from a simple canteen into a stylish restaurant, with communal areas including table tennis and table football, comfortable seating in front of a large-screen TV and even a barista serving top-quality coffee and smoothies.

Stronger bonds have been forged as a result, with Elanga, Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White leading the band. When Gibbs-White heard he had been selected for the England senior team for the first time, his team-mates celebrated as if they had been called up too.

Advised to behave like Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka off the pitch, the penny has dropped for Gibbs-White, who has grown immensely this year. Where once no one knew where the 24-year-old would step out of bed, he now sees himself as a role model for younger players and works informally with several academy prospects.

Forest are desperate to get Gibbs-White to sign a new contract, and while the playmaker is in no rush to do so, he has never been happier about it in his career.

Much of this rebuilding was carried out by Nuno’s predecessor Steve Cooper. Cooper not only led Forest to promotion after taking charge of the club at the bottom of the Championship, he also pushed for upgrades at the training base and the City Ground.

The pitches at both sites were replaced at a cost of £2m. The number of data analysts was tripled, the changing rooms were improved and there was a greater focus on recovery and nutrition. Cooper also turned academy product Brennan Johnson into a £50m footballer.

Without Cooper, Nuno would never have had the chance to build on these foundations and Forest would never have been able to hire him, although it has been far from smooth sailing.

When Forest were accused of breaching spending rules last term and were deducted four points, it is thought Nuno was scared, his focus was affected. How much did he know about the situation when he signed in December?

Forest thought twice about sacking him. There was enough concern about training sessions that Mail Sport understands players were asked for their views. If the stars had aligned differently, Fulham manager Marco Silva, who has long admired Marinakis, would now be in charge.

Nuno stayed, however, and it already looks like an excellent decision. Keeping Forest going has given the 50-year-old new energy and he is now fully committed, just as he was at Wolves. He has a much better relationship with Marinakis than Cooper and, along with Evangelos, his son Miltiadis and recruitment expert George Syrianos, Nuno wields enormous influence.

Nuno first flexed his muscles last winter in a spat with Forest’s chief physio Jon Fearn over the return of striker Taiwo Awoniyi from injury, with Fearn leaving the club in February.

Nuno doesn’t subscribe to the one-size-fits-all approach to rehabilitation favoured by many British physiotherapists, believing that every player should be treated differently. Wolves’ injury record before the pandemic was excellent, with 11 players making more than 40 appearances in the 2019-20 season.

Nuno’s relationship with players is more of a teacher-student relationship than the ‘older brother/sister’ approach that modern coaches adopt. He values ​​respect over popularity.

Where Nuno has matured is in his dealings with superiors. Often seen as grumpy and distant at Wolves, he speaks regularly to Marinakis and impressed him during the summer when, with agents queuing up to introduce strikers, Nuno advised Marinakis to keep his money in his pocket.

Mail Sport criticised Forest in March for their ‘scattergun’ approach to transfers after they were deducted four points. But if previous windows have been chaotic, this summer’s has been masterful.

Marinakis has been central to Forest’s transfer campaign, relying on his relationships with top agents and using his talent and experience as a negotiator.

He pushed the Anderson deal knowing that if Gibbs-White ever left he could be an effective replacement. The final flourish was to push Vlachodimos to Newcastle as a condition of signing Anderson. In a further powerplay, Forest rejected the offer for Elanga without a second thought, despite it being a club record sale.

Lyon owner John Textor has spoken out in admiration for Marinakis and was persuaded to pay Forest £27m for Moussa Niakhate, an unremarkable centre-back with a mixed injury history. It solved Forest’s own PSR problems in one fell swoop.

After Olympiacos won the Conference League, Marinakis took the trophy to the grave of his father, Miltiadis Sr., who was also closely involved with the club. His emotional bond with Forest seems almost as deep and no one can question his dedication or ambition.

Make no mistake, Forest is on the rise. Those who smiled ironically at Marinakis are now smiling on the other side of their faces.