Nottingham Forest forward Nuno da Costa has claimed that the Reds "might be a special team" due to the spirit in the dressing room. 

The 29-year-old joined the East Midlands club from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in the summer – signing for a reported fee of £2 million.

So far, Da Costa has not had many opportunities to impress for the City Ground outfit and has made just one appearance, coming off the bench for the last 20 minutes against Charlton Athletic.

Sabri Lamouchi will no doubt be hoping the Cape Verde international can provide the Reds with a boost in the final third and help push them toward promotion when the season resumes.

Forest are fifth as things stand and, with a 10-point gap between them and the top two, look as if they'll need to progress through the play-offs if they are going to get promoted.

Whether or not they can secure a place in the top flight this season, Da Costa certainly seems to believe there is something building at the club.

Speaking to The Athletic, he said: "It is kind of a family group here. Everyone tries to take care of each other. We meet away from the club. It was a little bit different in France. You came to work, you did your job and you went home. Some players were friends, some were not. Here, it feels different.

“Everyone seems to like each other and it is very easy to go and talk to the other players, with no problems. It is really important to have that because sometimes people focus on the quality of players — but building a team is not easy.

"Look at teams like Paris Saint-Germain, who sign a lot of players but cannot win the Champions League. Sometimes you have to focus on the spirit.

“Spirit can turn a good team into a special team. I think this might be a special team, because there is certainly that spirit there.”

Can you name these 15 ex-Nottingham Forest centre-backs? Have a go now!

The Verdict

Forest fans will surely love to hear this from Da Costa, who seems to be very impressed with the spirit at the East Midlands club.

He is yet to have much of an impact on the pitch but he seems to have settled well in the dressing room. It's going to be very interesting to see how he fares when he is given more opportunities by Lamouchi.

It seems, having spent so long in French football, he couldn't resist a dig at PSG.