Nottingham Forest succumbed to defeat last time out against Newcastle United.
All is not lost for the Reds though and under Nuno Espirito Santo the team are still sitting fifth in the Premier League.
The Forest head coach has got the team playing some nice football and there are reasons to be cheerful going into the third international break.
Espirito Santo raved about Murillo against Newcastle but his performance was really about as good as it got.
The break allows Forest the chance to take stock and for some players, the hope will be that international minutes can help rediscover their match sharpness.
Kelvin Wilson unhappy with Morgan Gibbs-White performance vs Newcastle
It was perhaps surprising that Morgan Gibbs-White started against Newcastle.
Although he returned to the team for the game against West Ham, Elliot Anderson will have been desperate to play against his former club.
Still, Espirito Santo went with his main man in the number 10 and the player didn’t look particularly good throughout the contest.
Wilson told the Forest Focus podcast: “I don’t know what he (Nuno) was thinking. Morgan Gibbs-White was miles off it.
“I say every time I talk about Forest that I’m a massive fan of his but he was miles off it. If he and the two wide players don’t create much then we struggle.
“It showed massively yesterday that when Gibbs-White isn’t on it, we don’t look likely to create much.”
Gibbs-White striving for consistency in Forest number 10 role
It would be great this week if Lee Carsley gives Forest a dig out and starts Morgan Gibbs-White for England.
The player missed some games with an ankle issue sustained against Chelsea and he’s clearly not up to speed yet.
We agree with Wilson when it comes to Sunday.
Gibbs-White was largely ineffective and although we held a 1-0 lead, half-time might have been the ideal time to introduce Anderson from the bench.
The 24-year-old has just one assist to his name this season and from eight games that’s below-par for a player of such a high standard.
With that in mind, it’s imperative that Espirito Santo finds a way to help Gibbs-White get more goals and assists after the international break.
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