Nottingham Forest have just returned from Greece where they faced UEFA Conference League champions Olympiacos in the final pre-season test.
The Reds ran out 4-3 winners against the Greek outfit – also owned by Evangelos Marinakis – and it proved a very useful test.
This pre-season has been far less chaotic than the last two since Forest won promotion to the Premier League.
In a refreshing change of tact in the transfer market, only six players have been signed so far, with quality over quantity very much the order of the day.
More players will be added before the transfer window closes but crucially, Forest have also avoided selling any of their star players this summer.
Julian Bennett spent five years at Forest as a player and served his boyhood club with distinction – drawing comparisons with Stuart Pearce for his tough-tackling approach to matches.
Now, he’s on board as a coach with the academy at the City Ground and he’s shared some positives following the commencement of the pre-season campaign.
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Julian Bennett shares what he really likes about Nuno Espirito Santo
Bennett strikes us as a player who enjoyed pre-season when he was at Forest with his dedicated approach to matches never unnoticed by supporters.
He was a firm fan favourite during his time at Forest when the club were battling it out in the third tier of English football.
Forest’s recruitment was largely impressive those days and the summer months didn’t really see a glut of signings come in regularly.
Bennett is pleased to see Espirito Santo settle things down somewhat this summer at the City Ground and he’s a big fan of how the head coach has approached things.
He told the Shut Up and Show More Football podcast: “The gaffer is present, he has time for everybody. To have a full pre-season with a manager under your belt is so important from a player’s perspective.
“The team bonding, the management, the coaches, everybody – that brotherhood is important and you take it into the season.
“You’re starting to see more of an identity on the pitch in the performances of what the gaffer wants. I really like the pressing from the front and utilising our speed and width. I think there will be more positivity in the team.”
Forest under pressure to get off to flying start this season
We do agree with Bennett that Espirito Santo deserved a full pre-season after taking over a difficult situation back in December.
At times last season, the football was somewhat drab but in contrast to Steve Cooper, Forest did have a go in most games under Espirito Santo.
This season the fixtures have piled the pressure on Forest from the off to a certain degree.
Games against Bournemouth, Southampton and Wolves to start the campaign make it imperative that Forest get off to a strong start.
The Reds can ill-afford to be playing catch up this time around, with the three promoted teams this season likely to be better than the three 12 months ago.
With Bennett working behind the scenes at the club, the insight he’s shared on Espirito Santo does sound somewhat positive.
Now, hopefully, Forest can hit the ground running and get as many points on the board as possible in the opening weeks of the campaign.
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