Nottingham Forest boss praises Aina’s replacement after Tottenham Hotspur victory

Nottingham Forest head coach, Nuno Espirito Santo, praised Ola Aina's replacement – Harry Toffolo, in his side's 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur last night, Soccernet.ng reports.

Aina injured his calf in Nottingham Forest's victory over Manchester United a few weeks back. Prior to that, the 28-year-old defender started in every game for the Reds this season.

Due to Aina's absence, Nuno Espirito Santo handed Toffolo his first start of the season, fielding the Englishman at left back, while moving Neco Williams to the right-back position.

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Like Aina has done on several occassions with the Reds this season, Toffolo pulled a goal-line clearance in the last minutes of the game at the Tottenham Stadium, and Nuno was pleased to have gotten victory against his former side.

“We are very proud of the way we competed. We reacted really well from the previous performances. The team competed well. We started well with the two goals and were dominant – even without the ball, we tried to contain Tottenham.

“Even though they had chances, we had Matz (Sels) at a high level again and the clearance from Harry Toffolo. The spirit is about that. The way we compete is as a team.

“The clearance symbolizes the Forest spirit, but not only that. We have been talking a lot since the beginning of the season about the importance of the squad.

“Even though a player doesn’t start, I still believe he is going to play a part, and Harry did it. We are going to need them all. We are going to go to Wembley with players out and we have to find solutions, so every player in the squad has to commit himself to give a hand. Harry did it and did fantastic.

“We don’t have Ola (Aina) or Eric Moreira, so we had Zach Abbott on the bench,” the former Wolverhampton Wanderers gaffer said in quotes revealed by Nottingham Post.

Former Newcastle United striker, Alan Shearer, mentioned he was unsure Forest would make the UEFA Champions League spots, but Nuno replied, stating his side are not in the business of proving people wrong.

“First of all we have to realise that we are in a fight that no one expected – us included – and it’s normal, but I don’t want to prove nobody wrong. It’s about us.

“We have a big desire to compete. We like to compete and the players enjoy it. We are in the mix against big teams and that can only make us proud. We embrace the challenge.

“We are ahead of a big week for us – we’re going to Wembley to compete against a big team. There are a lot of games ahead of us. As long as we keep this approach and compete well, you never know,” the 51-year-old concluded.

Nottingham Forest are currently third on the English Premier League table, one point above Newcastle United and two above Manchester City.