Cup is no distraction for struggling Forest
NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO has no intention of prioritising Nottingham Forest’s relegation fight above their FA Cup dreams.
Forest host Premier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday but head coach Nuno says he will give Manchester United his undivided attention tonight.
Asked if he will rotate his squad for the FA Cup fifthround tie, he said: “It doesn’t come into our thinking.
“Our idea is to go game by game. We’re always trying to find the best team to face the next game.You have to deal with the situation in front of you. If you are concerned about what might happen, it doesn’t make sense.
“Football is so unpredictable. We’re facing a very good team.We have to be strong, compact, to do what we want, which is to progress.
“We have to be near perfect. Playing at the City Ground for us is huge.We want our players to feel comfortable, confident and use this fantastic energy we get from the stands.
“Our fans push us and that’s what our players must feel – confident at the City Ground.”
Pressure is building on Nuno after the decision to return four points to Everton on Monday.
Forest dropped a place in the table and are now one point below the Toffees.
A nine-point haul from 13 matches away from the City Ground heaps pressure on them to perform at home. Forest conceded three times in the first half in their 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa last Saturday and Nuno said: “We made our task very difficult.We have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Manchester United are a good team with a good squad. They have good solutions if they have problems.
“But this is something we are positive about. We’re at the City Ground. We’ll give it our best.”