How Cooper’s courage fired flaky Forest to brink of big time

WHEN a new manager comes in, a standard move is to make a rabble-rousing speech to inspire faltering players. On his first day at Nottingham Forest, Steve Cooper opted for a different approach. He arrived in September with Forest bottom of the Championship after the sacking of Chris Hughton. Yet after a few words to his players and staff, Cooper simply listened. During his first few weeks, he arranged one-to-one meetings with every player and staff member. Having heard what they had to say, the Welshman was even more convinced that Forest needed to play more attacking football. It was a bold move but Cooper understood that with Forest in trouble, courage was the way forward. Training was altered so he could make the most of his players’ attacking potential, rather than stifling the opposition. It has worked — if Forest win their last two games, at second-placed Bournemouth tonight and at Hull on Saturday, they will return to the Premier League for the first time this century. ‘Our ambition is to play a certain style,’ said Cooper. ‘It is not easy because I am asking for us to play a brave, positional game which is about trying to be creative and exciting. ‘Those are hard things to do. Sometimes we get it right, other times we don’t. That’s football.’ Cooper has also given greater responsibility to his players, with Lewis Grabban and Jack Colback among the senior stars in a leadership group. The manager encourages players to bring any issues to him when they arise, rather than allowing them to fester — and it is not only the senior stars who have benefited. Forward Brennan Johnson was the subject of a big offer from Brentford in January but was so settled he made no push to leave. Tying the 20-yearold to a new deal might be trickier if Forest do not go up. Since joining on loan from Middlesbrough, full back Djed Spence, 21, has looked every inch a Premier League player and has attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham. James Garner, a 21-year-old midfielder borrowed from Manchester United, has also flourished under Cooper, as have homegrown pair Ryan Yates and Joe Worrall. ‘I’ve been a coach professionally for 20 years now and most of that has been in youth development, where you are drumming into young players that they need to take the ball in difficult positions under pressure,’ said Cooper. ‘You want them to be free, to be creative, to express themselves, to play with team-mates, all these sorts of things. All we are trying to do is to do it at a more senior level.’ Despite reaching the play-offs in consecutive seasons with Swansea, it was no surprise to see Cooper depart in July. A natural conclusion had been reached and with little room for manoeuvre in the market, a repeat would have been tricky. Cooper is happiest on the training ground. While he is not afraid to give his opinion to the hierarchy, his forte is coaching and attention to detail. He used his brief break to watch coaches in other sports, as well as observing other industries. He was named the Football Writers’ Association’s Manager of the Year for the Midlands, but knows this is no time to reflect. Having come so far so quickly, this is not the time for Forest to take their eye off the ball.