Every word Nuno said on Nottingham Forest warning signs, 'bad response' and Hudson-Odoi injury
Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo was left to reflect on a “bad day” as Nottingham Forest suffered a 5-0 capitulation away to Bournemouth.
The Reds had gone in at half-time still in the game at just one goal behind, despite being well below par at the Vitality Stadium. But they folded in the second half as Dango Ouattara netted a hat-trick and Antoine Semenyo piled on the misery to add to Justin Kluivert’s opener.
It brought an end to Forest’s nine-match unbeaten run in all competitions, although they remain third in the Premier League table. Below is a look at what Nuno had to say after the final whistle on the south coast.
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On being surprised by the result…
“Of course it is tough to take. I think it surprised everybody, especially the way we started the game. It was bad. It was bad. From the beginning until the end, it was a bad day.”
On what he put the performance down to…
“It is realising how we do things; how we’ve been playing football until today. Our strengths are clear - we are a team that needs to be close to each other, compact and don’t allow space for our opponents to drive and make their actions.
“The moment that we lose that aspect of the game, it becomes much harder for us. Much, much harder.
On previously strong areas of Forest’s game going AWOL…
“Not only today. The second half against Southampton was a warning. It is a 7-0 that we have in 135 minutes, that’s the reality. We have to take a deep look at how we did it today so we cannot repeat it again.”
On analysing what happened…
“We always do the same with our approach, in terms of preparation and analysing the previous game. We take a deep look and prepare for the next one based on the (good) things and the mistakes that we did.
“We didn’t do too many (good) things today. Now it is all about regrouping and going again against Brighton at the City Ground.
“It must be a warning for everybody - us as a group of coaching staff, the players, the fans. Realising how we do things, and we can never abandon those aspects of the game. We bounce back by working, preparing and competing.”
On the problems Bournemouth posed…
“They are a good team. They have talented players who can unbalance the game by their actions. We shouldn’t have allowed so much space to such quality players.”
On whether the game provided insight into how Forest would respond to falling behind early on…
“Yeah, and the response was bad.”
On Callum Hudson-Odoi’s absence due to a groin problem…
“He was not available for today. We still have to assess for the next one.
“We cannot be sure that he is going to be available. He has pain in his adductor. It has been really stiff. The medical department tried everything they could but for today it was impossible. Let’s see for the next one.”
