Nuno Espirito Santo had to face some brutal feedback from the Nottingham Forest owner, who stormed onto the pitch after Sunday’s draw with Leicester as Gary Neville urged the manager to quit
Nuno Espirito Santo claimed Gary Neville “knows what it is like” as he distanced himself from his suggestion that he should quit as Nottingham Forest boss. Nuno was confronted by the club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis after a late Leicester City goal damaged their Champions League hopes.
Forest were looking to remain in control of their own destiny when they faced the Foxes at the City Ground. With 10 minutes remaining Nuno’s side were leading, but an equaliser from Facundo Buonanotte has left the Nottingham outfit in seventh.
For so much of the season Forest have been in the Champions League spots, but they face the threat of missing out in the final weeks of the season. Nuno has performed miracles with his side tipped for the drop, but he had to face a dressing down from owner Marinakis in the aftermath of the final whistle.
The Forest owner has never been shy in making himself front and centre but Neville was stunned by his antics and urged the former Wolves and Tottenham boss to walk away from the job.
He wrote on social media: “Scandalous from that Forest owner. Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him! The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that.”
READ MORE: Nottingham Forest owner releases statement after confronting boss Nuno on pitchREAD MORE: Evangelos Marinakis slammed by Gary Neville over ‘scandalous’ Nottingham Forest incident
When quizzed on Neville’s comments Nuno said: “I am not going to comment too much. I have huge respect for Gary Neville, he is the coach who replaced me when I was sacked at Valencia. So he was a coach himself. He knows what it is like to be on the touchline. All the rest, please allow me… I do not want to proceed about (talks of) the future.”
Nuno was tasked with keeping Forest in the Premier League when he took over midway through last season and has surpassed all expectations with this term with his exploits. Since early December his side have remained in the Champions League spots – only falling out in recent weeks.
The Greek businessman has looked to defend his actions in a post-match statement as he said: “We were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo [Awoniyi] and the medical staff’s misjudgement on Taiwo’s ability to continue the game. This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club.”
Forest’s next assignment is a trip to West Ham before they host Chelsea on the final day of the Premier League season. That could prove a winner takes all contest with the Blues currently sitting in fifth, one point and two places ahead of Nuno’s side.
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