The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Sport Saturday
Cooper remains defiant as Forest feel relegation heat
Steve Cooper has vowed to fight for his future after Nottingham Forest’s alarming run continued.
Cooper is under intense pressure following a sequence of one win from 13 matches, with the patience of owner Evangelos Marinakis being seriously challenged.
Forest are only five points above the relegation zone despite a huge summer spend of around £100 million, and Cooper’s position remains in jeopardy.
Marinakis was not at the City Ground, opting to watch from his base in Athens, and his son, Miltiadis, was in attendance.
Hopes were high that Forest could target a top-10 finish this season, yet Cooper is still battling to find consistency and a settled team, while also trying to pick up results in an unforgiving division.
“There is obviously nothing good about the run of form we are in. We are not going to hide from it,” Cooper said. “We are a very together club at the moment and we have to stay together.
“There’s always pressure and you have to deal with that if you want to excel and survive in our case at this level. We’ve got to stand up and be counted. We have to continue to believe in players, the moment we show doubt they will feel it and go onto the pitch not believing as they should.
“I’ve got no complaints with the commitment of the boys. We also need to face up to the fact that we’ve got to do better.”
Cooper was given a typically warm reception before kick-off and can still rely on the backing of many supporters despite the club’s alarming recent run.
Towards the end of the match, fans chanted his name in another display of loyalty towards the Welshman who ended the club’s 23-year exile from the top division.
Not many managers at this level can survive a run like this, however, regardless of their previous achievements.
“The job means the world to me. It always has done. I wish it was different, in terms of the results that
we’re getting,” said Cooper. “I know there are talking points around me. I wish that wasn’t the case and we were talking about more points and more wins and the players.
“We have to earn a break ourselves. You have to play a certain game against Spurs and if you open up the pitch too much they can hurt you, which we have seen.
“We were compact in the game plan in the first half. We could have shown a bit more quality on the ball but the one moment we came off the game plan we got punished. That is the level we are playing at.
“On the flip side, we are not making the most of the opportunities at the other end. We are not working the goalkeeper enough. At this level, when you get opportunities to be productive in the final third you have to show quality at the right speed. At the moment we are not showing.
“There is obviously nothing good about the run of form we are in. We are not going to hide from it. What we are falling short of is some defining moments in games.
“The fans are brilliant, no doubt about it. The guys are really together and trying. We know we have to show more quality in the final third. We have to continue to believe in players, the moment we show doubt they will feel it and go onto the pitch not believing as they should. We have to stay committed as we can be.”
Forest full-back Neco Williams said the players still backed the manager. “He has had doubts since we came into the Premier League but we are in a little dip at the moment in form,” Williams said. “This is football. We have to stick together and the results will come eventually. You saw the crowd today, they love the manager and we love the manager as well. We believe in him and the fans believe in him, it is just a matter of time to pick up the results.
“We just have to stick to the plan and keep going.”