Reid role confirmed as Cooper aims high
HEAD COACH SAYS IT’S AN ‘HONOUR’ TO BE IN CHARGE
STEVE Cooper has confirmed his new coaching staff at Nottingham Forest.
He will be assisted by former Swansea City coach Alan Tate, with Steven Reid remaining as first team coach, although head coach Cooper believes job titles are not the be all and end all.
Reid held the same post under Chris Hughton and took charge of the Forest team in the win at Huddersfield Town last weekend following Hughton’s sacking.
Cooper is full of praise for the former Blackburn Rovers midfielder.
“Reidy is a real honest guy. He’s a man of true values and got the boys to play as they did,” he said.
“I’m really happy he’s still with us. That was always my intention.
“I’ve leaned on him a lot this week. I wouldn’t say I knew Reidy that well before coming here.
“In the pandemic the FA did a lot of zoom webinars and me and Reidy seemed to be on them all.
“We’ve got on well and built up a good relationship quickly.
“I’m not too obsessed with job titles. It’s about a collaborative approach.
“His job won’t really change.” Cooper was previously assisted by Mike Marsh at Swansea but he will not be coming to the City Ground as the opportunity “came at the wrong time” for him, the new boss said, insisting they remain close friends.
Former Swansea goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson will remain as Gareth Southgate’s goalkeeping coach having landed an enviable role with England.
With that in mind, Cooper is set to bring in Danny Alcock, who worked with former England Under-17 coach Cooper at the FA.
He was most recently national goalkeeping coach and coach educator at the FA.
As a player he began his career with Stoke City before playing nonleague football for the likes of Stafford Rangers and Nuneaton Town.
Cooper says it is an “honour and privilege” to be Forest’s new head coach as he looks to be part of “modern approach” to finally bring success to the City Ground.
He says his immediate impression of the club is one of its scale.
“I’m excited about being here, privileged and honoured to be at such a historic club. I’m committed to being successful,” he added.
“It’s a new direction with Dane, a modern approach with good young players who can play in a style to represent the fans.
“I want to see a team on the pitch the fans can be proud of and associate with. We want to do that in a modern way.
“It’s a big club. I knew that. “There was 26,000 in on a Tuesday or Wednesday night here. It’s big in terms of support and status.
“This has all happened really quickly from Chris leaving to me coming in. The conversations with
Dane were key in terms of the vision and where we want to go.
“We want to grow players, not just younger ones.
“We want to grow the club by growing individuals, improving the style of play. We want a collaborative approach and a plan we can commit to.
“You have to stick to it and focus on yourself, rather than the other clubs even though you respect them.
“In the end if your plan is a good one and you stick to it you can be successful.”
While the long term goal remains as lofty as ever - the Premier League - he says his immediate priority must be to climb the Championship table.
They are currently second bottom after Derby dropped below them following their points deduction for going into administration.
Cooper has been encouraged by what he has seen so far having watched the win at Huddersfield under caretaker boss Steven Reid, with his first game in charge at home to Millwall tomorrow (3pm).
“I see a group that can play well. I see a lot of players that care,” he said.
“I’m only looking forward and I think this team can play well and have a real identity. “That’s what we’re raring to do. “We’ll take it step by step and not look too far ahead. Saturday is what’s on my mind.
“We want to build an identity of playing and win games.
“Belief is so important. The reality is they did really well at Huddersfield.
“It was a really impressive Championship performance with attacking football, two good goals and they managed the game well. I’m not going to say they - we managed the game well.
“The first thing I said on Tuesday to the players was that I wanted to congratulate them on that win.
“We need to build on that. You’ve got to recognise the job Reidy and Warren Joyce did up there.”