Nottingham Forest: The Steve Cooper effect

Since the first game Steve Cooper stepped foot onto the touchline at Nottingham Forest, everything has turned to gold for the Reds. Cooper’s tenure has started positively with Forest being four games unbeaten.

Having been in the England youth set-up and winning the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup before managing Swansea City, Cooper was welcomed into Forest with open arms.

With a younger squad at Forest and Cooper’s exceptional record of developing young talent, Cooper is the ideal coach to take the club forward. His appointment has certainly brought back that loving bond between the club and supporters.

Cooper has managed to seemingly work his magic in the initial stages of being the Forest boss. In his first official game in charge against Millwall at home, it ended a point a side. In the next trip away to Barnsley, he changed to three at the back. They entered half time 1-0 down, but in the 60th minute he put Lewis Grabban on for Tobias Figueiredo and went to a back four which instantly changed the tide of the game. They backed that up with an emphatic 0-3 win against Birmingham away.

After the international break, Forest’s next challenge was at home to Blackpool. Just being in the ground before a ball was kicked, you could feel the togetherness and excitement from the fans which was amplified in the electric atmosphere during the game.

The Reds started strong, opening the deadlock with a brilliant goal. The vision of Joe Worrall to find his left-back, Max Lowe in a forward wide area who then fed a pass into Brennan Johnson to finish off the move was just great football to witness. After being pegged back to 1-1 in the second half, Grabban got back onto the scoresheet ending in a 2-1 victory. On reflection, Forest should have a lot more with 13 shots and five on target, but the three points is what counts in the end.

After the game, the buzz at The City Ground was evident. The fans are enjoying watching Forest play again, and Cooper is the catalyst for that.

A trip to Bristol City lies ahead on Tuesday as Forest look to continue their unbeaten run. From the start of his reign, there has been a new manager bounce, but also seriously good coaching in a short space of time to transform the group that was left behind by Chris Hughton.

Cooper has managed to transmit his identity and bring that positive attacking mindset to the players who have been underperforming for such a long period now. He has constructed a team which now looks cohesive and they are creating chances at will and getting results, which is only adding to the camaraderie and confidence in the dressing room.

The manager’s character and connection with the fans has set the feel-good factor back well and truly on Trent side. Cooper has come in with his new methods and ideas which has totally refreshed the side. If things continue, Forest can build a such a formidable atmosphere which will be crucial in taking them close to where they want to be.

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