Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis says his ambition is to aim even higher than a European place after their fine start to the campaign.

Forest have exceeded expectations so far this season, sitting sixth in the Premier League table after 14 matches.

They had been occupying a spot in the Champions League places prior to a run of three defeats in their last four games.

Asked about Forest's chances of qualifying for a European competition under Nuno Espirito Santo, Marinakis was bullish.

"I see it even higher and I think you need to believe in your dreams," he told Sky Sports. 

"Of course it's difficult. It might take you more time, it might take years, but you need to have the right mentality and always have targets that are difficult to be achieved. But you try your best.

"You try to persuade your family, your team-mates, the guys that you work with that this is possible. Nothing is impossible. You should never give up. You should be able to stand up.

"Try your best, correct your mistake, try again and again and again. And at the end of the day, you'll be rewarded with a victory. So it's a matter of time and it's a matter of patience and hard work and faith."

So far this season, Forest have taken four points from matches against Liverpool and Chelsea, while they are the only team in any competition to have defeated the league leaders.

But consistently challenging the Premier League's Big Six is a tall order, given the resources they have available. Yet it is one that Marinakis thinks can be done.

"Yes, I think that is realistic. And it's up to us at the end of the day. I think it's very important to take responsibility. So I take responsibility in the bad times; in the good times we can share this responsibility," he said.

"It's something pleasant to share responsibilities during good times and victories, but in the difficult times you need to take responsibility, correct your mistakes and act accordingly so you can recover and fight back and come back and win."

Nottingham Forest's impressive history, having won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 and the First Division title in 1978-79, was one of the reasons, Marinakis explained, that he initially became involved with the club.

That history is also one of the reasons, he believes, that they have the potential to upset the natural order within the Premier League.

"For me, that was the target from the beginning. When I first said it, people said it's crazy. But, for me, this is important, otherwise I wouldn't do it. If Forest weren't a big team, I wouldn't get involved. For me, it's the memories that I have," he said.

"It was when I was first visiting England, and then I stayed in England. That was at the beginning of the 1980s and there were two teams at the time: Liverpool and Nottingham Forest."