It is just over a year since Nuno Espírito Santo arrived at the City Ground with the task of turning the ship around. The Portuguese found Nottingham Forest in a battle for survival, sitting one place above the relegation zone, which is exactly where they finished the season, confirming their top-flight status only on the final day. It was an effective first few months in charge but did not suggest Forest would become Champions League challengers as 2025 approaches.

Forest visit Goodison Park on Sunday, the scene of their lowest moment since returning to the Premier League in 2022 when an emotional social media post from the club’s X account lambasted the officials during Everton’s 2-0 victory in April. At that point Forest looked like a circus and the prospect of reacquainting themselves with the Championship was a serious possibility, but they did just enough by winning four of their final 18 games.

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Eight months on the club’s X account is used for marking victories, having already surpassed last season’s tally. What started as a surprising run has become a genuine push for European qualification that took them to third after defeating Tottenham on Boxing Day for a fourth successive victory. It was always the aim of their ambitious owner, Evangelos Marinakis, to normalise winning, eventually achieving this shift in mentality, even if the strategy has not always been obvious.

Considering how close Forest came to relegation, it would have been easy to plot an overhaul of the squad. Nuno, however, knew the areas that required improvement and Forest were adept at finding the right fits thanks to the technical director, George Syrianos, and the chief scout, Pedro Ferreira.

Plenty has changed without a revolution: only two players who started against Tottenham were not at the club last season. Forest were susceptible at the back under Steve Cooper and Nuno made them stronger but failed to solve the problem of defending set pieces. To address that, a dominant centre-back arrived in Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina. Forest’s has become the third-best defence in the Premier League.

The centre-back is willing and aggressive but, equally, he is a steady head alongside Murillo. Forest sought someone experienced, vocal and commanding, settling on Milenkovic, who had been a regular starter in Serie A for five seasons. The Serb was signed in mid-July after he was deemed the best fit to work with the left-footed Murillo in a back four, allowing Nuno to have a full pre-season to instil tactics and belief.

“The second half of last season was about surviving,” Nuno says. “Most of us realised how hard it was for the players to really compete well. That is a normal assessment. The beginning of this season things have really changed because the players realised how much we needed to improve. There is no other way. The players did everything we demanded of them and they don’t stop, we keep going, keep going and this is the big difference we can see.”

The other summer signing who started on Thursday was Elliot Anderson. He had long been on Forest’s radar and his ball-carrying qualities, which would complement Ryan Yates, Morgan Gibbs-White and others who play centrally, were too much to pass up when it became clear Newcastle were eager to sell.

Clubs live and die by their recruitment, as those underperforming in the Premier League are finding out. Manchester United have struggled to make an effective signing in years and possess an unbalanced and expensive squad that does not fit the needs of their coach, Ruben Amorim. Nuno also arrived mid-season and used his pragmatism to steer Forest to safety, before addressing the key issues within the team, eventually confirming their top-flight status by beating Burnley in May.

“That day we realised it was mission accomplished, the first job we had to do we did it and we did it in a way under the circumstances we did,” Nuno says. “And we did it without conflict. I told them they did it because they are a nice group of people. And then we have built on all the aspects. But first the bond and then it all started. That is the priority. My belief is that this is the priority for everything, if you don’t work together, how can you build something?”

Clearly the additions have pushed Forest forward but the change in mindset has been imperative. Nuno has shown he can adapt to all opponents this season and will be untroubled by jumping from freewheeling Tottenham to the discipline and organisation that is the foundation of Everton.

A striker is the most likely arrival in January as competition is sought for Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi. One potential problem is the form of their star players, meaning other clubs could be ready to make big offers to secure the services of Murillo or Anthony Elanga, but Forest are keen to keep hold of those who have propelled them up the table.

Forest are an example that change does not need to be dramatic in order to instigate an upward trajectory. While the focus has been on the failings of purported bigger clubs, Forest’s rise has been a relatively quiet one built on precision and belief.