Nottingham Forest have made a fine start to the Premier League campaign, sitting 10th on 10 points from their seven matches so far.
On Sunday, Forest drew 1-1 with Chelsea and that highlighted the progress made under Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Forest head coach got his game plan down to perfection and he managed to stifle the threat of the in-form Cole Palmer.
Espirito Santo was praised by Jamie O’Hara after Sunday’s game and it’s clear that he’s worked tirelessly over the summer to improve things.
Andy Jacobs called the tactics deployed by Forest ‘cheating’ on Sunday but the team merely had a meticulous plan to know the Blues out of their rhythm.
With Forest the pick of many pundits to go down this season, some have already started to eat a large slice of humble pie just seven games into the season.
Robbie Earle has already changed his mind on Nottingham Forest
The Reds have claimed eight points from four games on their travels this season to make a great start away from home.
Espirito Santo has cracked it away from the City Ground, with Noni Madueke confessing that Forest frustrated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The challenge is to get things right at home now, with Forest still awaiting the first victory on home would in front of the home fans.
Robbie Earle predicted Forest and Wolves to be down near the bottom this season and he’s held his hands up on that one already.
He told The 2 Robbies podcast: “I’m going to tip my hat to Nottingham Forest and Nuno, they’re tenth in the league and have started better than I thought. I had them as possibly one of the teams who might struggle a bit like Wolves this season.”
Forest still have work to do in order to progress
One thing that the recent game against Fulham proved is that there are no easy games in the Premier League.
As a result, it’s probably best if Forest fans don’t get too above the station just yet – despite sitting pretty in 10th place.
A bad run of form could throw Forest back into serious trouble and it’s vital that more wins come in the next block of four games.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 8 |  FulhamFulham | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 11 |
| 9 |  TottenhamTottenham | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
| 10 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| 11 |  BrentfordBrentford | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 12 |  West HamWest Ham | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 8 |
If Forest could go on a little unbeaten run again, it would certainly help stave off the threat of relegation and ensure a more comfortable campaign.
It’s good of Earle to hold his hands up and it does feel as though Forest will have more than enough to avoid going down.
However, Forest won’t be getting too smug just yet and Espirito Santo will be keen to ensure his players stay grounded.
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