'That's NONSENSE!' - Nuno Espirito Santo rubbishes claims he wants to be sacked by Nottingham Forest amid Evangelos Marinakis feud

The Portuguese has fuelled intense talk surrounding his future after revealing he is no longer "close" with Forest owner Marinakis ahead of his side's trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

However Nuno insists he wants to remain in charge of Forest this season and is willing to clear the air with both Marinakis and sporting director Edu, who he is also believed to have fallen out with following disagreements over the club's transfer strategy this summer.

In a pre-match interview with Sky Sports, when asked if he is trying to "engineer" a departure from Forest, Nuno said: "That's nonsense, that doesn't make any kind of sense. And our state [of mind] is that we are focused on the game [against Palace], that is more important."

And when pressed to clarify if he wants to remain as Forest manager this season, Nuno reiterated: "Of course! Of course!"

After Nuno expressed his fear that Forest were ill-equipped to cope with the demands of competing in the Europa League this season, the club responded by embarking on a remarkable spending spree. The Reds brought in James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson and Arnaud Kalimuendo on permanent deals, while Douglas Luiz joined on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.

Forest are preparing to take on Palace in what is expected to be a fiery encounter at Selhurst Park. Both clubs have been at loggerheads this summer after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Palace's appeal against their demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League, with Forest taking their place in the former competition.