Anthony Elanga praised one key factor that helped Nottingham Forest stars be ‘ready’ for European push

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Nottingham Forest find themselves firmly in the top four in the Premier League after a Boxing Day victory over Tottenham.

Forest’s 1-0 win over Tottenham was their fourth consecutive in the league, helping Nuno Espirito Santo’s side reach the heights of third in the Premier League table.

After Forest’s win over Brentford, festive cheer has been all around at the City Ground as Forest’s remarkable push for European football shows no sign of slowing.

One of the individual success stories of the festive period has been Anthony Elanga, with Elanga praised by Lewis McGugan for his three consecutive goals over Christmas.

Elanga wasn’t focusing on his performance against Spurs, though, instead choosing to praise Espirito Santo’s early contribution to Forest’s memorable season so far.

Anthony Elanga praises Nuno Espirito Santo’s pre-season impact

Espirito Santo joined Forest midway through last season so didn’t have the chance to have a pre-season with the Forest squad, something that Elanga thinks has helped the team this season.

Speaking after the Spurs win to the Amazon Prime Video team, Elanga said: “It all started in pre-season, I feel like the gaffer [Espirito Santo] has had a full pre-season to properly get everyone going and we got the signings in early which helped the team.

“We ended the game in a five at the back which is just a different shape we can do because everyone is ready and buying into the ideas.”

Ange Postecoglou praised Espirito Santo before the Spurs clash, as more and more people in football begin to agree with Elanga on how the Forest manager has managed to use his time in pre-season to create a brilliant side.

Another aspect Elanga did mention, though, was the summer signings, something that Evangelos Marinakis deserves praise for.

Nottingham Forest had their signings in early to help Espirito Santo

The Forest squad against Spurs featured two of Marinakis’ most important signings of his time as Forest owner: Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic.

Anderson joined Forest from Newcastle United in the summer and has become a key linchpin in the Forest midfield, contributing five assists from the two deeper roles in Espirito Santo’s system.

Meanwhile, Milenkovic signed for Forest from Fiorentina, who has gone on to build a brilliant partnership with Murillo at the back for Forest.

Crucially, though, both Anderson and Milenkovic joined Forest in July, giving Espirito Santo plenty of time to incorporate his star signings into the squad so they could hit the ground running at the start of the Premier League system.

Therefore, Elanga was right to praise Espirito Santo’s pre-season impact, but his hint at the impact of the early signings is also worth praising in Forest’s charge for European football.