Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood has hailed manager Nuno Espirito Santo for the manner in which he’s gotten the best out of him.
L’Equipe have an interview with the striker today in which he explains why he thinks it’s going so well for him under the Portuguese boss.
Wood has been the star man since Espirito Santo arrived as Steve Cooper’s replacement last season, with the New Zealand international bagging 28 goals and four assists in 45 games under him since then.
He’s been the key man to them rising to third in the Premier League this season, with 18 goals and three assists in 26 games to date.
It’s something of a late resurgence for the 33-year-old and he credits Espirito Santo for the manner in which he convinced him.
“From his first game, he put me in the starting line-up and then developed a style of play that favoured my qualities,” he said.
“Over time I’ve learnt that a manager can tell you what he wants, but in the end it’s his decisions that speak for themselves. Nuno proved to me through his actions that he believed in me.”
While Espirito Santo has been key to setting up the team and getting the best from Wood, the players around the New Zealand international have also played their part.
The likes of Anthony Elanga, Calum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White have all played their part too, forming a deadly quartet up front for Nottingham Forest this season.
Wood is particularly impressed by Elanga, though, who has provided him with ten assists since the start of last season, a record for that period.
“Yes, he’s so good at taking the ball out of his opponent’s hands and then calling me into action,” he said.
“He anticipates my moves, and I anticipate his. More generally, the three strikers who are most often starting alongside me – Ant’ (Elanga), Morgan (Gibbs-White) and Callum (Hudson-Odoi) – give me excellent balls. And they have integrated perfectly into the system devised by Nuno.”
