Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Away following so vital to us, says chief Cooper
MARK Cooper believes Forest Green Rovers’ travelling fans can have a big part to play in today’s derby at Cheltenham.
Rovers have sold out their ticket allocation for ‘El Glosico’ at the LCI Rail Stadium, with 870 supporters making the short trip for the fourth Football League meeting between the two Gloucestershire clubs.
Boss Cooper praised the support his side received in their 4-1 win at Newport on Boxing Day and feels they can make a real difference.
“The away following was superb at Newport, they sung their hearts out and you saw the response it got from the players with the performance and the way they thanked them at the end of the game,” said Cooper.
“It’s key, to grow a successful club you have to have a good following.
“I think it gives you that extra impetus for certain, it gives you that little extra desire.”
Both sides head into the game after good wins with Cheltenham beating MK Dons 3-1. The Robins have enjoyed an upturn in form since the 1-1 draw at the New Lawn in October when Michael Duff was still searching for his first win.
“They look strong, powerful, trying to play as well and they’ve got some good players, a big squad and Michael’s done a good job,” said Cooper. “At the start it would’ve been really frustrating for him because you expect to get that initial bounce when you go in, it didn’t quite happen, they didn’t win for a while, but now they’ve got some results behind them and now a fantastic result on Boxing Day.
“They’ve got a lot of big players, a lot of aerial threats, so we’ve got to make sure we deal with every situation that comes in and around that penalty area.”
Forest Green have the best away record in League Two with seven wins and three draws from 12 games on the road and they sit seventh in the table.
Cooper added: “We have to make sure we keep that going. We have to play well.”