EXCLUSIVE: Nuno reveals who will be his first choice goalkeeper at Nottingham Forest between Turner and Odysseas as he demands improvement from both goalies as Reds goalkeepers rank bottom for saves in the PL this season

Nuno Espirito Santo has called on his goalkeepers to step up their performances after shaky displays for Nottingham Forest this season.

Neither Matt Turner nor Odysseas Vlachodimos has impressed this term and Turner was far from convincing in Nuno’s first game as manager, a 3-2 home defeat by Bournemouth last Saturday.

Nuno is a former goalkeeper himself, signed by Jose Mourinho for Porto in 2002 and later a part of their 2004 Champions League-winning side.

And the 49-year-old revealed that Turner – signed from Arsenal for £10million last summer – would be his No 1 initially, meaning that the American international will keep his place in the team at Newcastle on Boxing Day.

Nuno said: ‘I would be fair to tell you that Turner will be the goalkeeper, but at this moment it is about performance.

‘Any decision that we are going to make is going to be based on the performance we want for our team. Every player has to improve, starting with our goalkeepers.’

Both Forest’s goalkeepers rank bottom of the Premier League this season, saving just 62.7 per cent of shots faced. Only Sheffield United (44) and Burnley (36) have conceded more than Forest’s 33 goals this campaign.

Tuesday’s opponents Newcastle, meanwhile, have the fourth-best defence in the league by goals conceded, while Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka have combined to save 73.3 per cent of shots, third-best behind only Liverpool and Manchester United.

Coming into the next round of Premier League fixtures, only Sheffield United and Burnley have conceded more goals than Forest this season

Nuno will be heartened to hear that star forward Taiwo Awoniyi is recovering more quickly than anticipated from a thigh injury, while his back-up Chris Wood delivered one of his best games for Forest against Bournemouth, equalising for the 10 men in the 74th minute before Dominic Solanke’s last-gasp winner.

Forest’s £30m record signing Ibrahim Sangare is recovering from a groin injury and Nuno expects much from the midfielder.

He added: ‘He was ill and lost weight but he is recovering now and is definitely an option for us.’