Killing snakes and swimming in the ocean - Nuno's intriguing upbringing

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has become one of the most recognisable faces in the Premier League over the past decade, with the Portuguese boss also taking charge of Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur in the past.

As the Premier League resumes this weekend, Nuno has guided Forest to fifth in the early table and on the latest episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up and Show More Football podcast, journalist Henry Winter revealed how the 50-year-old differs from an orthodox top-flight manager.

"One of the most important things he has done is that he has worked with [owner, Evangelos] Marinakis," said Winter. "I don't think [predecessor, Steve] Cooper necessarily had that relationship. Nuno is a very empathetic individual and very emotionally intelligent. He is not your average Premier League manager. He is no Harry Redknapp.

"He grew up on an island in the gulf of Guinea. I remember talking to him once about his background and he says it winds up his wife because when they go on holiday together, he wants to feel the sand on his feet and he wants to feel the salt on his skin. He describes it in poetic, beautiful terms.

"When he goes on holiday, if he has been on the beach or in the sea, he won't have a shower. He loves feeling the sand between his toes and the salt on his skin. This sounds a bit like Desert Island Discs! He was telling me about how he just feels the ocean and having grown up on the island, he was trying to explain it.

"He said there were - I think boa constrictors - and I am pretty sure he wasn't winding me up, but he said one of the first things they got taught as kids was how to kill a boa constrictor.

"The point I am making is there is a lot of background but he did experience racist abuse and then made it as a goalkeeper and a manager. [He has] a very empathetic, soulful side - and soulful is not something you often see in Premier League dugouts."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds