There might be a few tongues in cheeks when the Nottingham Forest supporters unite as one to chant “We’re going to win the league” but it shows how well things are going at the City Ground.

Victory over West Ham means Forest have won three consecutive Premier League games for the first time in more than a quarter of a century and moved them into third in the table.

It does not seem to matter that the manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, is banned from the touchline and the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, not even allowed in the stadium. Forest have the second best defence in the league, having conceded seven times, and a prolific striker in Chris Wood, who along with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina settled the match against a West Ham team who had to play for more than a half with 10 men after Edson Álvarez was dismissed for the second time this season.

Related: Chris Wood makes striking impact in Nottingham Forest’s surprise start

“We have to work and work hard and even improve much more,” Nuno said. “Nothing has changed since the beginning. We have to keep on going, keep on going, keep on going. Believe me, there’s no other way. If you get distracted, football doesn’t forgive you.”

The first quarter passed without incident but it was clear Forest were the better side. Their speed of thought and movement was far superior to the visitors and the opener was deserved when Álex Moreno made a clever run beyond the defence and collected a Nicolás Domínguez pass before chipping to Wood who headed home from six yards. Despite West Ham playing three centre-backs, no one took responsibility to mark the striker who has eight goals in 10 games.

West Ham’s forgettable first half was summed up in stoppage time – having failed to have a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, Lucas Paquetá saw his attempt from the edge of the box cleared off the line by Wood. “Did you see that? Wow,” Nuno said. “There’s no better example. Wow. You cannot thank them enough. He’s been huge for us, huge. I hope he continues. The way he leads, the example, the voice, the belief that his teammates have in him.”

Forest cleared the resulting corner and broke down the right through Anthony Elanga whose run was curtailed by a late tackle from Álvarez, who was given his second booking, sealing West Ham’s fate. The Mexican then wandered down the touchline and past the tunnel, much to the home supporters’ amusement, until he was eventually forced to sheepishly turn back for a few extra seconds of goading.

“We did not deserve to win or draw the match,” Julen Lopetegui said. “He [Álvarez] knows he needs to improve his decision making but I am the coach, I am responsible for all of them. We have to use this bad moment to push us up and forward and face the next challenge. We have to be better and more consistent.”

This is not solely the story of a strong starting XI, there is quality running throughout the Forest squad. When they wanted to add freshness, Jota Silva and Elliot Anderson were sent on to increase the pressure on a tiring West Ham, who managed one shot on target all game. Within seconds, Anderson had bamboozled Jean-Clair Todibo to win a free-kick on the edge of the box. The former Newcastle man took it short to Hudson-Odoi who performed his trademark trick of curling the ball from the left-hand side of the box into the far corner.

If the home fans thought things could not get better, they were pleasantly surprised when Aina cut in from the right and managed to whack a bouncing ball into the top corner from 20 yards. The Nigerian arrived on a free transfer in the summer of 2023 and has played all over the pitch but like everyone else in red, looks incredibly comfortable within Nuno’s framework.

Forest stayed up on the final day of last season and have already surpassed half the total of points they earned in 2023-24. Forest are in dreamland and no one wanted to leave at the end amid the noise of celebratory fireworks outside. It might not last for ever but everyone on this side of the Trent is rightly enjoying every moment.