Oliver Glasner issues challenge to Nottingham Forest defender Murillo

Oliver Glasner has set defender Murillo the challenge of getting back to his best form for Nottingham Forest.

The centre-back missed the end of last term and the start of pre-season with a hamstring injury. Although he has been in the first XI for the Reds’ opening three Premier League games, he has completed the full 90 minutes only once.

After he came off in the final minutes of last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, Glasner said Murillo hadn’t returned from his summer break in “the shape he should come back”. Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa, the Reds head coach says the Brazilian is making progress toward reaching full fitness - with the next step to hit his previously high performance levels.

“I have spoken to him regularly, just like the other players,” Glasner said. “His fitness is getting better and better. He played his first 45 minutes of football during the (pre-season) training camp in Portugal, which was five weeks ago and he had been out for four months.

“It is about getting rhythm. He has been involved in every training session, he has played in most of the games and he is getting closer and closer to his top fitness level. It might have maybe taken longer than we expected and he has produced okay performances. But we all know that his standards are not to be an okay player for Forest, they are to be a top player and a top defender - he has all the potential and skills for this.

“We will support him until he is, hopefully, even better than he has been before. He is really working hard. He is on track.”

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Murillo’s countryman and Reds teammate Jair Cunha has received a first senior call-up for Brazil for their upcoming friendlies. Having made the squad himself in the past, the 24-year-old will no doubt have designs on one day earning a recall.

“I hope that he does not need this motivation,” Glasner said, when asked if Jair’s achievement can act as a spur for Murillo. “Every player should have an intrinsic motivation to improve and to be rewarded for that by being called up to play for their country.

“The focus must be on what they have to do to get called up. That is what I have tried to explain - the focus to do what Jair has done, from day one, to get called up.

“James McAtee was the player of the tournament for England when they won the (2025) Under-21 European Championships. What other goal should he have than playing for the England first team?

“I have spoken before about the difference between ‘wish’ and ‘goal’. Many have the wish and do not do anything to achieve it. If it is your goal, you have to invest in it and you have to work very hard, because there are hundreds of players who want to play for their country.

“You want to be in an elite circle of, I don’t know, 26 players? I don’t know how many thousands of good Brazilian players there are around the world, but you want to be part of the top 26? You must be fantastic.

“To get that reward you have to work really, really hard, then it can happen. That has to be the mindset - focus on your daily work at the club, then it can happen.”

Jair has described having the chance to represent his country as a “proud” moment. It has been a strong start to the season by the 21-year-old and his performance against Spurs would no doubt have been noted by one of the Brazil coaches in attendance.

“I was a little bit surprised at the beginning,” Glasner said of Jair. “But then when I could see his mentality to improve I was not surprised.

“In football, it is not about showing up for just one week. Football is all about consistency; you have to perform in every single game.

“That is maybe the most challenging part of football. We all know plenty of one-hit wonders, but the ones we remember are the ones who perform over years.”

He added: “We had a meeting (on Thursday), to show the players a few bits on Aston Villa. It is always the tradition that, at the end of meetings, if players have a birthday or a call-up for the first time, they are rewarded by having the last word. It was not a massive speech (by Jair), but there were a few nice words for a 21-year-old.

“When it comes to having microphones or cameras in the dressing room, I am old school. I think it should be our inner sanctum. It stays in the dressing room and at the training ground.

“The players are so visible and transparent in their social media. But in the dressing room, I want the door to be closed, so that they can be themselves.”