Super Eagles defender Ola Aina has encouraged his Nottingham Forest teammates to build on their impressive performance from last season and maintain the club’s upward trajectory as they prepare for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Speaking after Forest’s pre-season friendly against AS Monaco, Aina highlighted the importance of replicating last year’s strong pre-season, which he said laid the groundwork for their achievements, including a seventh-place finish in the Premier League and qualification for European competition.
“Last pre-season was a massive part of the season we had, so hopefully we can replicate that and go again,” Aina said, reflecting on their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign.
Now in southern Portugal for a warm-weather training camp, the Nigeria international expressed confidence in the squad’s ability to continue progressing.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position for this season, and it should be exciting,” he noted. “Hopefully we can keep growing as a club because we did fantastically well last season.”
The 27-year-old right-back emphasised that the team is fully focused on maintaining their momentum and avoiding complacency.
“We just want to keep moving in the right direction — we don’t want to go backwards,” Aina stated. “We’re working really hard, and hopefully we can build on what we achieved last season.”
Aina, who has become a key player under manager Nuno Espírito Santo, stressed the need for ambition and consistency, urging the team to treat last season’s performance as the baseline going forward.
“It’s good that we’re setting the bar higher and have a standard now,” he added. “That’s how you grow as a team and as a club — by aiming to meet and exceed that level consistently.”