Areas to address during the break
BUILD ON IMPROVEMENT
IT has been a fine start to life at Nottingham Forest for boss Steve Cooper, since his appointment in September.
The Reds have lost just once in his nine games at the helm, with that defeat coming at the hands of promotion-chasing Fulham.
In total, 18 points have been picked up from a possible 27 as the team have climbed to 13th in the table, four points adrift of the top six.
But Cooper has consistently stated there is plenty of progress, and many improvements, still to be made.
The international break will give him valuable time on the training ground, something which has been in pretty short supply so far.
“As long as I get it right and don’t mess it up,” he joked after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Preston North End. “It’s an important part.
“I believe in coaching and training, coaching as an educational programme. We haven’t really had a great chance to do that.
“It’s been a lot of video analysis, a lot of meetings - –which we will continue to do, because that’s part of how we work anyway, but sometimes you want to do a bit more of it on the grass in normal training sessions.”
With that in mind, we have taken a look at the areas for the Welshman to address this fortnight.
■At the back
The triumph over the Lilywhites saw Forest register only their second clean-sheet under Cooper - with the other coming against Birmingham City in October, when they won by the same scoreline.
The Reds haven’t necessarily been defending badly in games, but individual errors have proved costly at times.
The flexibility to switch from a three to a four-man defence is a good asset to have, and Cooper has generally stuck with the same players, allowing relationships to develop and momentum to build. The Welshman has not been shy in admitting more shut-outs are required, though.
“It was very important to get the clean-sheet,” he said after the full-time whistle at the weekend. “Defensively, the main objective is always to keep a clean-sheet. At times, we haven’t done that as well as we should have done. “When we’ve played well and gone 1-0 down, we’ve sometimes given ourselves a mountain to climb. We didn’t want to make a habit of that.
“To score first and to keep a cleansheet, I felt was important. We addressed that. Any small hurdles we have to get over, we will face up to and deal with. There are no elephants in the room. “We needed to keep a clean-sheet. We needed to score first. We’ve done that.” Tightening up at the back will be an important next step to pushing on further under Cooper.
Any small hurdles we have to get over, we will face up to and deal with
Steve Cooper
■Scoring first
On a similar theme, the Reds have pulled off some dramatic fightbacks of late. They are testament to the grit, determination and character in the group.
But the aim is to start more on the front foot, to avoid giving themselves an uphill battle in games.
Cooper was pleased with how his team showed a “ruthless” streak against Preston - they could have scored more, too. He will be eager to see that more often.
Asked about working on getting on the scoresheet first, he said: “There’s no guarantee, of course. We’re going into every game wanting to take the lead and wanting to build on that - but so does everyone else, and you have to respect that as well.
“It’s not a black-and-white situation. Often you go into games with the best-laid plans and the best intentions, then all of a sudden you have to change things.
“Against Sheffield United, for example, they changed their shape in the midfield to what they’d done in previous games. You have to adapt quickly and recognise that.
“You’re always adapting to what your initial plans are.
“But behind the plans, I keep saying, it’s a decision-making game. The players are in control of the game, they really need to back themselves with their performance and their decision-making.”
■Attacking threat
The Reds have plenty of quality in their squad, with the likes of Lewis Grabban, Brennan Johnson, Philip Zinckernagel, Joe Lolley and Alex Mighten – not to mention players such as Joao Carvalho and Lyle Taylor, who have not seen quite so much
HOW FOREST CAN MAKE THE MOST OF TIME TO
game time.
Cooper has mentioned how he is keen for them to find the net with greater regularity than they have been doing.
Three goals on Saturday will have pleased him no end, but he’s always targeting further improvements.
Referee decisions have been a sore point in recent weeks, with several not going the team’s way. But working on their end product and making better decisions at times will also go some way to bumping up the goals tally.
Likewise, spending time on setpieces is sure to be a theme during these two weeks.
Assistant coach Steven Reid oversees the attacking set-plays, and will be eager to get more goals from them.
They netted on the back of one against Preston, through Colback’s volley after Zinckernagel’s free-kick had only been half cleared.
But it is an area where Forest can still make considerable gains, with corners also not always landing how they would like.
■Players’ form
Cooper has made few changes week to week when it comes to his team selection. He has got the best out of a number of players who were struggling prior to his arrival – Jack Colback being one particularly prominent example.
There are still others who are yet to hit top levels, though. Such as James Garner who has struggled to find his best form.
Although he faces a fight to get into the XI based on Colback and Ryan Yates’ performances, the head coach will nevertheless be looking to get more out of him.