Forest thriving after embracing Clough’s legacy
Cooper’s players relish ‘standing on shoulders of giants’
SOME managers rip down pictures of great teams from the past but Nottingham Forest’s Steve Cooper is happy to sing the achievements of Brian Clough’s European Cup winners from the rooftops.
As a young academy coach, Cooper worked alongside Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool — Forest’s FA Cup quarter-final opponents today. He saw directly how a living legend could inspire the next generation. There is no thought of hiding away from the great Cloughie teams that won trophies in three different decades.
‘We will always stand on their shoulders and rightly so,’ says Cooper, who is tasked with bringing the glory days back and has lost just four of 32 games since arriving in September.
‘It’s something we should embrace and be proud of.
And of course we will try to create new chapters. That is the exciting bit for me.
‘I was always interested in what Forest achieved and have delved into it more since being at the club.
‘I’ve had the honour of meeting some of those greats. A lot still live in the area and come to the games.’
Forest were last in the Premier League 23 years ago and have not reached this stage of the Cup for even longer.
After plenty of false dawns, Cooper looks qualified to put things right. Forest have already beaten Arsenal and Leicester at the City Ground to earn their chance against Liverpool, and two of their loan players — James
Garner and Djed Spence — are in the latest England Under 21 squad.
Cooper has packed in a lot of experience for a 42-year-old. He started coaching at Wrexham and spent five years at Liverpool, rising from Under 12s coach to academy manager. He saw young talents like Trent Alexander-Arnold blossom.
Dalglish, who was based at the Kirkby academy, took a shine to him. Cooper knew he one day wanted to be a first-team manager. The pair remain close and Cooper was on the guest list at the premiere of the film Kenny about the Scot’s extraordinary life.
The values he learned from Dalglish and Liverpool — putting players first and making sure the club operate like a family — are flourishing on the banks of the Trent.
‘Like with Liverpool, once you’ve contributed to the club, you are not forgotten,’ adds Cooper. ‘That’s why the guys who have gone before should always be part of the future as well. ‘Forest is a big club with a massive fan base but it is still built on togetherness and a city coming together for match day, a real sense of belonging.
‘To do that, you need to continue looking after people and treat them right going forward.’