Nottingham Forest head coach, Nuno Espirito Santo, admitted he’s content with his side’s Premier League campaign despite their failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Portuguese gaffer featured two Nigerian stars as Forest climbed a mountain of achievements to qualify for Europe after two consecutive seasons of surviving relegation battles.
Aina was rock solid in defence for Forest, while Awoniyi struggled with injuries, most recently, with an intestinal rupture.
Nottingham Forest fans celebrate Taiwo Awoniyi’s incredible recovery from emergency abdominal surgery pic.twitter.com/i3tdIf1T8l
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) May 25, 2025
He returned to the City Ground ahead of his side’s clash against Chelsea, but he was unable to inspire his side to victory against Enzo Maresca’s side, which confirmed they wouldn’t be playing in the UEFA Champions League next season.
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Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will play in the UEFA Conference League next term after his club qualified for Europe for the first time in three decades, but the hosts were still frustrated and disappointed.
“It is too early to make a big reflection of all these things. First of all, as a coaching staff, we have to thank the players because they worked very hard every day. We have a very good squad. We have to thank the fans for their incredible support until the end.
“When you look back at all of the season, I think it’s a good season. We have been able to improve many things in our team, and we have a good platform.
“We should be proud of the way we have a group of people who want to help each other to improve, including through bad times like today. We stick together,” the former Tottenham Hotspur manager said in quotes revealed by Nottingham Post.
“We are disappointed, but in a couple of hours you will look back and realise it’s been good. It has been a very demanding season, especially for the players. I don’t know how many have started more than 30 games.
“They gave it their all. That’s why I say we should be proud. Now we have to rest, and deservedly so. It is not easy for me to speak about all these things because today is tough, especially with what happened.
“We knew the last day was going to be tough for all the teams involved in this fight. We came short. We were aware (of what was going on). We knew one goal could change everything,” Nuno concluded.
Forest finished 7th on the English Premier League table, two points behind Newcastle United, who qualified for the UEFA Champions League.