All-clear for Reds as boss plays it cautious
STEVE Cooper says there are no positive coronavirus cases in the Nottingham Forest first team bubble as they prepare for today’s clash with Hull City.
A number of this weekend’s Championship fixtures have been postponed due to Covid-19 outbreaks at clubs, with the English Football League having clarified teams will be expected to fulfil fixtures if they have 14 players, including a goalkeeper, available.
The Reds have had some positive cases within their academy, but, last night, the City Ground match with the Tigers was not in any doubt.
“Everyone has seen how the situation has escalated, not just in football but in the country, even in the last few days,” said Cooper.
“With the number of positive cases yesterday, it was a real strong reminder that we’re going into another difficult period.
“We did still have some protocols in place anyway, ones that hadn’t gone away from even before I came here, in terms of the amount of people traffic coming into the training ground. But that has been heightened.
“There have been some cases in the academy over recent weeks and days. Even though we are on the same site, we do separate bits, and we have managed to keep the positive cases separate.
“The 18s and 23s games are off and have been off for a few days now because of that.
“We’re really back into where we’ve been before, for all football clubs, in terms of trying to minimise the risk of Covid getting in the building.”
Cooper has been in regular dialogue with chief executive Dane Murphy and chairman Nicholas Randall this week as football reacts to the surge in cases around the country.
“I’ve always said over the last couple of years, the most important thing is the health and well-being of everybody; not just players and staff here, it’s everybody - the city and the community,” said the Welshman. “That was always at the forefront of my mind.
“At the moment, our preparation is fine. We have no positive cases in the first-team bubble.
“We’ve sat down with the players this week and reminded them of what’s going on in the country, what it means for football and what it means for themselves. We’ve done that with the medical team to the players.
“I’ve had daily meetings with the chairman and the chief executive, to make sure I’m up to speed with what’s coming from the Football League, then we can relay that to the players and staff. Communication lines have been very open and very constant.
“That’s what’s been different. But in terms of our football preparation at the moment - and I hope it stays like this - we’ve been able to carry on as normal.”
After the shut-down in the 201920 season, followed by almost 18 months of playing behind closed doors, Cooper is keen to avoid a recurrence of either scenario.
“We’ve been there before, haven’t we? We know how unfortunate and disheartening, and how de-motivating both of those situations can be,” he said.
“Cancellation of games is no good for anybody - players, fans, staff, club.
“And the thought of supporters not coming back into games, having had so long without them, then having them back and realising the importance of them... not just being in the stadium, but what it means to supporters as well, and what it means to their lives. We’ve all recognised that when they returned.
“We get an amazing following and we get amazing attendances, but all clubs are the same - football clubs are at the heart of so many good things in people’s lives and communities.
“Even the thought of having no fans in stadiums again is something you don’t even want to think about.
“At the moment, we have no disruption of positive cases, so we are able to plan and prepare.
“Nothing has really changed this week, apart from some extra meetings with players and staff about some updates. I just think that’s good practice, to communicate with the players about what’s happening and what we expect.
“There’s no excuse to not prepare normally.
“That could change, because it seems to be happening a lot with other clubs. But if it does, we have to be ready for it.
“We have to be as best prepared as we can be to make sure there is as little disruption as possible.”
Amid grim news reports, Forest are hoping to give supporters plenty to cheer against Hull as they target a third successive win.
“We want to play well and get a positive result, because of what’s become quite a negative week with what’s going on with Covid,” Cooper added.
“One thing I’ve learnt in the last couple of years is you can really put a smile on people’s faces by supporters being proud of their team with performances and results.
“That’s got to become an objective as well now.”