Sarah Clapson, Nottinghamshire Live: How Nuno changed Forest's fortunes | OneFootball

Sarah Clapson, Nottingham Forest correspondent for Nottinghamshire Live and the Nottingham Post, has explained how Nuno Espírito Santo has changed the fortunes of his side this season.

Forest have gone from battling Premier League relegation last term to being a top-four contender ahead of Saturday's game at Brentford, with a full pre-season being a key catalyst for their success so far this season.

Nottingham Forest are fourth in the Premier League, with eight wins from their first 16 games. What have you made of their season so far?

It has gone very well. I do not think too many people expected the club to be where they are at the moment. There was a feeling that Forest had done well in the summer transfer window, they brought some good players and they really wanted to kick on, but it has gone better than what a lot of people would have thought.

They had a few games prior to the last couple where they had not quite looked themselves: against Arsenal and Manchester City they had not quite been at their best, but they had shown before how well they can play. Since then, they have responded really well and got back-to-back wins.

They are fourth on merit. They are where they are because they have done well, they have got good players and they have got a manager who has really started to show what he is about. He has really benefited from having the summer and pre-season and he's done really well.

You said about having a really good transfer window - lower key than years gone by - but has anything else other than that been a catalyst for why it's gone so well, do you think?

Having a pre-season with the whole squad was a really big thing for Nuno. He spoke about it a lot last year and they did go through a lot of challenges last season. They had the points deduction, they had a lot of run-ins with referees and VAR and there was a lot going on for him, so it was not particularly easy.

I guess he maybe took a step back at the end of the season and it worked well for him, just having that bit of a break. Then they all came back and he had a chance to really work with his players on the training pitch.

Last season, he came in in the middle of the campaign and he said himself that it is not something that he is used to, starting in the middle of a season and it is just game, game, game, game and he never really got a chance to work with the players and really mould the squad how he wanted.

Having the summer and pre-season was huge for him. He focused a lot on creating bonds and a team spirit and a sense of unity, and all of that has shown in the results and the way they have been playing.

Last Saturday, for instance, against Aston Villa, they came from behind, scoring two last-minute goals to get the win. That summed up everything that Nuno is about and that he wants. It is that team spirit, that steely attitude, never giving in and working as a team. All those roots, all those foundations were laid in the summer.

On the transfer window, do you think, to maintain this level, are they going to need to recruit anyone in January?

I do not think they need to do too much in January, largely because of what they did in the summer. They have got a really, really good squad. Key, again, will be holding onto their main players, which is something that they managed to do in the summer as well.

The likes of Morgan Gibbs-White, Murillo, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga were all subject to transfer speculation, but Forest managed to keep hold of them, managed to keep hold of the core group, and they will hope to do the same again in January.

They probably only need a few key additions, a striker being one of them, but they do not need to do too much work. They laid a lot of the groundwork in the summer and I think they will have a quieter January, perhaps, than previous years.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye out for at the weekend?

One player who has made a real difference since coming in the summer is Nikola Milenković, the central defender. He probably is not one of the most glamorous ones to look out for, but he is so key to Forest and he has made such a massive difference in tightening them up at the back and how they deal with set-pieces.

He has scored in successive games now, so he has that little bit of threat at the other end of the pitch as well. He has really helped Murillo come on as well.

He is still a very young player, Murillo, and still has a lot to learn, a lot of developing to do, but having Milenković alongside him has just been so beneficial.

What should Brentford expect from Forest in terms of shape and style?

Nuno has pretty much stuck with a 4-2-3-1. He has changed it a few times, but that is his go-to at the minute and it seems to be one that is working. Sometimes he tweaks it during games, but I think he'll probably start with that.

I think Forest's focus will probably be on trying to keep it tight because they will be well aware of how good Brentford are at home and the threat they carry. So they will want to make sure that they are really solid and compact, and they are a really effective counter-attacking side.

They've got pace in Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Elanga and Jota Silva who came in in the summer, so they can work really well with that counter-attacking threat. That is probably the way that they will go on Saturday because they will know that it is a really tough game.

There have been two Brentford wins and two draws in the Premier League meetings to date. What's your score prediction this time?

Tough one. I will go for a 1-1 draw. I think Forest would be happy with that. I do not think it is going to be an easy game at all, so I can see it finishing all square.