Robbie Earle has noticed the biggest change at Nottingham Forest since Nuno took over from Steve Cooper as manager

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Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Saturday to climb to fourth place in the Premier League table.

Forest won courtesy of goals from Nikola Milenkovic – his second in successive games – and Anthony Elanga who scored for the first time since February.

The Reds are flying high under Nuno Espirito Santo and ultimately it already feels like Forest will progress in the Premier League this season.

Elanga was praised by Theo Walcott after Saturday’s game but it’s Espirito Santo who is getting the lionshare of the praise after the win over Villa.

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Two pundits agree on Nuno Espirito Santo after Nottingham Forest win again

Robbie Mustoe hailed Morgan Gibbs-White after he registered another assist against Villa on Saturday.

He has also found time to praise the Forest head coach after he masterminded this result that propelled Forest up to fourth in the table.

He told The 2 Robbies podcast: “Nuno Espirito Santo, he’s done a brilliant, brilliant job, he’s got rid of some players, he’s settled things down.

“This was continuity from the start, it’s taken some time for it to settle down but he’s done it and what an incredible manager he is. This is completely incredible, it’s just crazy.”

Robbie Earle agreed too, claiming that he’s spotted one huge difference between Forest under Espirito Santo and from when Steve Cooper was in charge of the club.

He added: “Nuno totally understands and feels like he’s got the club. They’ve got a decent squad now, not just a first eleven but players who can come on too.

“For me, the biggest thing I can say about Nuno is that there is an identity to Forest now. I used to think under Steve Cooper they were a bit like too many other teams, I never felt like they quite knew who they were.

“Under Nuno, they’re defensively sound, don’t give easy goals away and when they get the ball they know what they’re doing.”

Marinakis will be counting lucky stars over Espirito Santo

The Forest head coach was almost sacked by Marinakis on two occasions last season but he stayed true to his guns.

Now, that decision looks like a positive one and hopefully, the Reds can enjoy a truly memorable campaign.

Espirito Santo has benefitted from a full pre-season and a meticulous approach to signing players in the summer transfer window.

Forest might well not get in Europe but with how the team is currently playing, it would take a very foolish person to completely rule out such a possibility.