Now Forest must back Cooper and build
CLEAR heads were in short supply by the River Trent the day after Nottingham Forest secured their Premier League status against Arsenal but they will be vital if the club are to build on this achievement.
Manager Steve Cooper will hold discussions with owner Evangelos Marinakis in the days ahead to plan the way forward and it is crucial that both are of the same mind when those talks conclude.
Because make no mistake, the future of Forest is at stake. Cooper loves this club as much as the fans love him but the Welshman deserves a calm working environment, without the off-field chaos that has providedded the backdrop to the season. ason.
As owner of 47-time ime Greek champions ns Olympiacos, Marinakis ie demands success and he and his associates must be sure that Cooper is the man to turn them into an established Premier League club. To look elsewhere would be a huge mistake. sers Just as players develop, Cooperr is improving as a manager anager and must be trusted. d
Cooper was close to the sack at least twice and other managers were sounded out in both October and April. If he chose to look elsewhere at the end of the season, nobody could blame him.
Amid interest from Crystal Palace and other clubs, Forest cannot let him slip through their fingers, because he and Marinakis deserve credit for what Forest have delivered.
Cooper showed outstanding man- management to create unity among a group who barely rrecognised eache other lalast summer, witwith 30 players signsigned across the season.se MarinakisMarina knew he neededdd tto spend to keep Forest up and although some of the signings were poor, the good ones have made the difference. Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi, Danilo, Felipe and Renan Lodi cost almost £70million combined and, along with homegrown stars Brennan Johnson and Ryan Yates, probably tilted the balance between survival and relegation. Yet much needs to change. Sacking three senior recruitment officials and a chief executive — still not replaced — during the season is not what brings the status Forest crave. ‘Alignment is what the best clubs, organisations, have from top to bottom,’ said Cooper. ‘It’s definitely required for a club to succeed.
‘There has been so much change that has happened and needs to continue to happen, just because of the uniqueness of our situation. Maybe getting promoted was a surprise.
‘Then there was a quick turnaround to the start of the Premier League and there was loads of stuff nobody has seen behind the scenes.
‘It is about putting everything together to become what we want to be. I’m really pleased we’re able to continue that journey in the Premier League.’ There is unlikely to be the dizzying levels of transfer activity that characterised the last two windows, and Forest may decide they need to sell a key asset in order to fund this summer’s work. Johnson is rightly a hero to supporters but has not been in the starting XI recently and has admirers across the league. As an academy product, any transfer fee could be banked as pure profit. Forest would do anything to trade places with Arsenal yet there is much soul- searching ahead in north London. Eight points clear in April, Mikel Arteta’s side blew it spectacularly and face more accusations of mental fragility in the toughest moments. ‘We played a great season but we have to take the next step because next season will be much more difficult,’ admitted rueful Gunners midfielder Granit Xhaka. NOTTM FOREST (3-4-2-1): Navas 8.5 (Hennessey 90min); Worrall 8.5, Felipe 8.5 (Boly 79), Niakhate 8; Aurier 8.5, Mangala 8, Yates 8.5, Lodi 8.5; GIBBS-WHITE 9, Danilo 7 (Kouyate 72, 6); Awoniyi 7.5 (Johnson 79). Scorer: Awoniyi 19. Booked: Niakhate, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White.
Manager: Steve Cooper 9. ARSENAL (4-3-3): Ramsdale 6; Partey 4.5, White 6, Gabriel 5, Kiwior 6 (Tierney 63, 6); Odegaard 5, Jorginho 6, Xhaka 5 (Nketiah 63, 6); Saka 4.5, Jesus 4.5, Trossard 4.5 (Vieira 70, 6). Booked: Jesus, Gabriel. Manager: Mikel Arteta 3. Referee: Anthony Taylor 7. Attendance: 29,514.
FINAL GAME — Nott’m Forest: Crystal Palace (a).
Arsenal: Wolves (h).