None of this feels real to supporters, some of whom are simply basking in the magic and others who are trying not to say anything at all for fear of jinxing it.
We examine six of the principal ways in which Nuno Espirito Santo is manufacturing a mini-miracle…
Only Sheffield United averaged less of the ball in the Premier League and Forest beat Burnley, Sheffield United and Fulham (their only league wins after mid-February) with 28, 46 and 34 per cent possession.
square FOOTBALL Sport AnalysisThe 'all-action' Nottingham Forest star wanted by Chelsea and Real Madrid
Read More
They set traps for the opposition, forcing them to cross the ball or pressing in specific areas outside their own penalty area. Then come the lightning counter-attacks.
Nuno is not fussed by the number of shots Forest have (13th by that measure) because he knows his team may only need one or two clear opportunities to win a game. And so it has proven: Chris Wood has scored 12 league goals from 34 shots.
So far this season, Forest are yet to concede a goal from a dead-ball situation in 20 matches. If their open-play defending has helped sparked attacks, their set-piece defending demonstrates their newfound structural organisation.
Shifting shape with a lead
Under both Steve Cooper and Nuno, Forest had proven themselves to be incapable of holding onto a lead.
Chris Wood is rivalling Erling Haaland with his ludicrous Nottingham Forest form
Read MoreThe same habit haunted them in early season, when Forest drew four of their first seven games and had scored first in all of them (the ludicrous thing is they really could be better off having taken two points from Bournemouth, Wolves and Fulham at home).
In part that’s because of a winning in-game switch. We know that Nuno likes to use a back three (he flourished using it at Wolves). When Forest get a lead, Nuno tends to bring on central defender Morato for a central midfielder or winger and go 3-4-2-1 and double down on the “soak up pressure and counter” plan. You could argue that Morato has become one of the most important players as a result.
In fact, Nuno has found a way by turning both from attacking midfielders into all-action players and thus accommodating them in the team as a pair – they have both started in each of the six straight league wins.
By making these two multi-functional and persuading them that they can operate just as effectively from deeper, Nuno has supercharged the counter attack. In a typical move, the ball is won and passed to Anderson, who then looks for Gibbs-White. He then has space and pace to carry the ball forward, his quality provoking defenders to back off, fearful of the pace of the wingers in behind. Nobody has really found a way to thwart it yet.
Wingers acting as second strikers
Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi have both started together in 12 games and have been on the bench a combined nine times. With Ramon Sosa and Jota Silva being eased in after summer moves, Nuno can manage minutes effectively.
My pilgrimage to Grimsby and the best football ground in England
Read MoreAlthough Forest line up as a 4-3-3 which suggests that the two wingers stay out wide, both Elanga and Hudson-Odoi are encouraged to make back-post runs to support Wood when the attack is created down the opposite wing.
Team spirit like never before
I’ve deliberately left this until last because it’s something that washes over everything else, but the team spirit within this group is extraordinary. Under Cooper, that spirit enabled was sourced from the goodwill within the home support that kept Forest up. Now it has become self-generating.
There are two moments that epitomise Forest’s season so far:
When Taiwo Awoniyi, who has struggled for minutes and being beset by niggling injuries, scored against Wolves at Molineux, the reaction from his teammates was joyous. There appears to be an understanding that close-knit first-team squad is only as strong as the person suffering the most. See too how Harry Toffolo and Willy Boly, both fringe players this season, both play a large part in the cheerleading and celebrations. When Forest equalised late on against Aston Villa, following an Emi Martinez wonder save and marginal VAR offside decision, Nuno’s players could have been forgiven for being delighted with the draw. Given the experiences of the two clubs over the last two completed seasons, a point represented an excellent result. Instead, as the players were celebrating with Milenkovic, Gibbs-White ran over and urged them to get back to their own half: he wanted a winner (that then came in stoppage time). There’s a can-do, why-not mindset within this group that is led by its most ambitious members and it’s rubbing off on everyone else. Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The six secrets behind Nottingham Forest’s unlikely title bid )
Also on site :