Chris Wood has lauded Nottingham Forest's ability to play 'extremely well' after seizing a 3-1 victory against Newcastle on Tuesday afternoon. 

The win is just Forest's second in 14, but new manager Nuno Espirito Santo will hope his first win at the helm of the club will spark a revolution within their lacklustre season so far. 

Eddie Howe's side were unable to hold onto their league gained by an early Alexander Isaak penalty thanks largely to the heroic efforts of former Magpie Wood.  

The 32-year-old is the first Premier League player to score a Boxing Day hat-trick since Harry Kane's effort for Tottenham in 2017, and the feat sees him join an elite club which includes luminaries such as Thierry Henry and Gareth Bale. 

After the final whistle however, Wood hailed the importance of the team effort to seal the result. 

'It's fantastic - what we deserved - we played extremely well today,' Wood said. 

'The boys were on fire and (it's) nice to get that winning feeling back, it's been a long time.'

Whilst he deemed the Amazon Prime interviewer's assessment that his second strike wasn't a 'traditional Chris Wood goal' 'a bit harsh', the forward agreed that he was 'just happy to stick them away'. 

'That's my job as a forward, and what I want to keep doing,' Wood added.  

But the player continued to insist that his hat-trick was a collective win for the side, than an individual achievement, as he stressed the importance of kicking on with a win finally under their belt. 

'It's nice to score goals and get three points,' Wood reiterated. 'It's about continuing to do it, and get goals throughout the whole team. 

'But the team was fantastic and they put it on a plate for me - especially the first goal - so I couldn't do it without the boys.'

Victory will - at least momentarily - boost Forest up to 16th as they overtake Everton by a solitary point. 

The visitors will next feature at home at the City Ground in a clash with Manchester United.

Man United will head to Forest in a new era, after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the club was confirmed on Christmas Eve.