Nottingham Forest star Elliott Anderson hails impact of Nuno Espírito Santo amid uncertainty over manager’s future | OneFootball

Elliott Anderson hailed the impact of Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo in helping him to win his first England call up.

The midfielder received his first senior England call up from manager Thomas Tuchel last week ahead of their World Cup qualifying fixtures against Andorra and Serbia.

Anderson is just the second Forest player to be named in an England squad in over 20 years alongside his midfield partner Morgan Gibbs-White.

Even though things at the Midlands club seem to be on the up as they embark on their first European campaign in over 30 years, there is tension between the manager and their owner Evangelos Marianakis.

Speaking last month, Espírito Santo admitted their relationship was not a good one, saying: “The reality is that it is not what it used to be. What it used to be was a good, respectful relationship, but was more based on trust and sharing opinions, and now it’s not so good.”

When asked about whether he wants the Portuguese manager to stay at the club Anderson said: “Yeah definitely.

“I think he’s been really good for me but, right now, I’m just focusing on this camp. I am making sure that I do my best here and then when I get back to the team, I’ll be back focusing on my club.

“Nuno just believes in me, that’s the main thing. He’s also just said to me to go out and play the way you train which is something that’s really helped me. I think he has given me freedom within the team and given me the platform to play well.”

As well as being successful with Forest, Anderson has also had success with the England U21 squad as they won the under-21 European Championships in June.

“Once you’ve won one, you don’t just want to win one, you want to win more. I think it’s just given me that extra bit of motivation to try and win another one, wherever it is or what trophy it is.” Anderson said.

The midfielder believes that the experience of winning the tournament in the summer will benefit him if he is part of England’s World Cup squad next summer.

“You don’t get to really play tournament football often. The under 21’s Euros gave me that bit of experience within tournament football which can hopefully benefit me at the World Cup if I was to go.

“It’s definitely helped being there and playing in those games.”