Nottingham Forest must get their preparations right this summer with European football on the horizon, with Callum Hudson-Odoi providing some details about pre-season so far.
Two 0-0 draws have given Forest a steady, yet uninspiring start to pre-season, but Nuno Espírito Santo will know that his squad could look vastly different when the competitive action gets underway.
Fringe players have made way, such as Lewis O’Brien’s move to Wrexham, while the Forest manager will be excited to see Igor Jesus’ first minutes in Forest colours now that he and Jair Cunha have joined up with the squad.
Recruitment is handled by Edu and his team, though, giving Espírito Santo time to focus on preparing the squad on the pitch, a task that Hudson-Odoi has claimed that the Portuguese boss is approaching slightly differently this time around.
Callum Hudson-Odoi on ‘intense’ Nottingham Forest pre-season
This time last year, Espírito Santo was embarking on his first pre-season in the role after taking over from Steve Cooper in December 2023, so plenty of the work would’ve had a focus on helping the Forest squad understand his methods.
There’s no need for that this season, though, leading to a much more intense training camp for Hudson-Odoi and his teammates to endure.
Speaking to the club media, he said: “This is much more difficult, much more running, much more intense.
“I think last year was more the manager coming for his first pre-season with us so he was getting to know us and finding our intensity, but now? Oh gosh, we’re running! It’s much more intense.”
Given that the Reds’ form suffered a dip towards the end of last season, this extra running could prove key to helping the side maintain their high standards, as well as navigating the fresh challenge of European football.
A different style of pre-season, then, but hopefully one that will have the same positive impact that last season’s campaign had.
Callum Hudson-Odoi credited last season’s form to preparation
Hudson-Odoi has a big season ahead of him, needing to help fill the hole in Forest’s attack left by Anthony Elanga’s move to Newcastle United.
He has everything he needs to succeed, though, given his respect for Espírito Santo’s methods, that was clear even last season when discussing the secrets behind the Reds’ season.
He said: “For me, I think it was more pre-season. Obviously, at the end of last season we were like: ‘Ok, we’ve survived, cool’, but before the start of this season we were all talking like we can’t be where we were last season, we can’t do that.
“We have crazy ability as a team, crazy talent that we have to go and win games and hopefully win competitions. So for us, we were looking at it and thinking ok, this season that comes up we have to make sure that we’re either in the top ten, top eight or even competing for Champions League football or European football.”
With five more pre-season fixtures to play, Hudson-Odoi and the Forest squad will hopefully be prepared just as well to tackle another season of progress.
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