“There will be a resolution” – Nottingham Forest manager Nuno hoping to repair board rift | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, ensuring a solid start to the new campaign with four points taken from their opening two matches.

Forest came from behind to earn a point against last season’s FA Cup winners thanks to a goal by Callum Hudson-Odoi, but much of the club’s early season is being overshadowed by a public rift between manager Nuno Espírito Santo and new director Edu.

Nuno has been strikingly outspoken in his displeasure at the way the club has progressed this summer, describing Forest as “very, very far” from where they should be. Speaking earlier this week, the Portuguese boss said of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis: “I have always had a very good relationship with the owner, last season was very, very close, almost on a daily basis.

“This season, not so well. I always believed that dialogue and what you say, or your opinions, are always valid. Because my concern is the squad and the season that we have ahead of us.

“Our relationship has changed. It’s not so close. It’s not on a daily basis. It’s not good, everyone at the club should be together but it’s not the reality.”

Nuno’s public declarations led to reports last week that he could be fired by Marinakis. When asked to comment on the rumours, Nuno was similarly blunt: “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” he said. “We know each other very well, and we have all been in the industry for a while now. And where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so I know how things work, but I’m here to do my job. I understand, because I’m worried. I’m the first one to be worried. I’m the first one to be concerned.”

Mendes factor?

According to The Athletic, Nuno’s openness has stunned people within the club. The publication says the basis of the former Porto coach’s frustration is rooted in his “broken” relationship with Edu, who arrived this summer as Forest’s new sporting director. A report in the Athletic says the pair’s fallout is “deeply personal” and that Nuno is largely the aggressor in the situation.

Nuno’s public irritation came amid a splurge of transfer activity by the club across the last week. The Athletic article mentions the lessened influence of Nuno’s trusted agent Jorge Mendes in Marinakis’ circle, with the Portuguese not involved in Forest operations these days, while Edu’s favoured agent, Kia Joorabchian, is now an important figure in day-to-day running of Forest.

Speaking after Forest’s draw against Palace on Sunday, Nuno admitted the need to move forward, while praising the way his team dealt with the occasion. Nuno was able to issue debuts from the bench to three new signings: club-record but Omari Hutchinson (€43m), James McAtee (€35m) and Arnaud Kalimuendo (€31.5m), while Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz has arrived on loan with a €30m obligation to buy from Juventus.

“We played good against a very tough team, Palace is a very good team,” Nuno told the BBC. “Ollie [Glasner] has them well drilled, well organised, no spaces, aggressive. So we expected a tough game, it was. We showed character, we played good.

“I’m a person who thinks a lot before I say anything. I say it because I think things can improve. But now it’s a moment to ignore the noise and just focus on what I have to do, my job is clear. A resolution? Of course there will be a resolution. Everything is going to be okay for sure. It’s the moment to sit down and talk.

“The more important thing is how we play football. I think we are improving, trying to adjust some things and that’s where my focus is. It’s 1.5 years since we joined Forest and we’re delighted. The journey that we embraced last season will stay forever with us. It’s memorable and it’s beautiful.”