Cooper tells his players to show no fear against the Blades

BOSS WANTS HIS SIDE TO LOOK BRAMALL LANE

STEVE Cooper wants Nottingham Forest to thrive on what is sure to be a white-hot atmosphere at Bramall Lane tomorrow.

The Reds take on Sheffield United in the first leg of the Championship play-offs semi-finals (3pm) and they know they must be able to cope with a raucous crowd as both teams look to take a step towards reaching Wembley, with a shot at promotion to the Premier League.

Only a couple of months have passed since Forest made the trip to face the Blades in League action, in March.

A late Ryan Yates header was needed to come away with a point on that occasion, despite the visitors feeling they deserved more.

“I think you have to thrive on the atmosphere,” said Reds head coach Cooper.

“Try to not be fearful of it – be the opposite, look forward to it, get ready for it.

“It is a big ground, with passionate and noisy support. But if you want to succeed in life, these are the sort of things you have to embrace and go for.

“It’s no different for us. And for the other play-off games, not just in the Championship but in the other leagues as well.

“If you want to be a team that succeeds, these are the games and the moments that you have to commit to, back yourselves and go for it. But go for it our way.

“I don’t know if the previous games against them will count. It wasn’t that long ago we played them.

“But they will have some personnel differences, and we will have some personnel differences, so maybe those things change.

“Tactically, I think there will be a lot of similarities. The stadiums will both be full, so that will be similar to the league games.

“Some bits, yes, they might be similar. And some bits, no, because it’s the play-offs! They are different and unique, and the context around it changes.”

Forest won’t change their approach against the Blades but Cooper says he will be mindful of the two-legged nature of the semifinals, with the return fixture to come at the City Ground on Tuesday night.

The Welshman is keen for his squad to understand the “context” around the game as they aim to make sure there is all to play for on the banks of the Trent.

And he knows there is a balance to be struck, too, between embracing the occasion and getting caught up in the emotion, given the nature of what is at stake.

“It’s a balance,” he added. “We aim to play a certain way, with and without the ball, which is a hard way of playing.

“Sometimes we do it well, sometimes we don’t, sometimes we’re a bit inbetween. That’s just how it is.

“That won’t change. But I’m not going to ignore the fact these games are a bit different, with it being two legs in quick succession. Playing the same team in quick succession doesn’t happen normally.

“You do have to understand the context around the two-legged affair. You do have to understand the context around what it means. You have to understand the context about the emotion.

“You have to try to get the balance right between managing all of that, plus go and play a game of footie as well!

“That’s what we’re trying to do.”

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