Cooper has transformed Forest's fortunes as they hunt Bournemouth
From rock bottom to within touching distance of the Premier League, Steve Cooper has transformed Nottingham Forest with tactical nous and Klopp-like positivity at the City Ground – and now they’re hunting down Bournemouth for a tense run-in
- Nottingham Forest have had a stunning rise up the table under Steve Cooper
- They were rock bottom when he took over as their manager in September
- Now they have a chance of overhauling Bournemouth to go up automatically
- Forest haven’t played in the Premier League since 1999 but are dreaming again
- Cooper has got the best out of a young squad and restored positivity again
Back on October 30, when Bournemouth extended their unbeaten start to the Championship season to a 15th game with a 2-0 win at Reading, they stood a whopping 19 points ahead of Nottingham Forest.
While the Cherries had enjoyed their best start to a campaign in 60 years, Forest lost six of their first seven – their worst start since 1913 – and had already axed manager Chris Hughton and replaced him with Steve Cooper. By October, they’d only just got going.
The prospect of the two clubs being engaged in a dogfight for the division’s second automatic promotion place seemed pretty remote. And yet here we are.
Nottingham Forest have been transformed this season and they could yet win promotion
Steve Cooper replaced the sacked Chris Hughton in September and has turned things around
With seven games remaining, Forest are six points behind the automatic promotion spots
With the Easter weekend marking the final lap bell of the gruelling Championship race, just six points split second-placed Bournemouth and Forest in fourth.
Forest, undefeated in 10 league games and having won their last five, are in the better form and, in one intriguing final twist, the two clubs meet in a rearranged match at the Vitality Stadium in the final week.
As City Ground legend Steve Hodge said at the weekend: ‘Bournemouth will know there’s only one team that can shoot them down and that’s Forest.’
Cooper has worked wonders to restore pride to a football club that had started to look rather jaded.
Without Premier League football since 1999, Forest increasingly sought solace in a more distant past when Brian Clough’s team conquered not only England, but Europe too.
Cooper has restored happiness to the City Ground as the fans dream of top-flight promotion
Keinan Davis scores in Forest’s 2-0 win over Birmingham at the weekend as their unbeaten run in the Championship was extended to a 10th match
But Cooper has created a talented and committed team to rally around. His record since taking over speaks for itself – 31 league games, 18 wins, nine draws, just four losses. 63 points and a rise from 24th and last to right in the mix.
Cooper’s trademark fist pumps to the Forest fans after the final whistle have become as regular as Jurgen Klopp’s similar celebration to the Kop at Liverpool.
It’s little wonder the Welsh coach, 42, was top of Forest’s list when Hughton went back in September. He’d guided Swansea to the Championship play-offs in back-to-back seasons on a modest budget and so knew the division well.
Cooper also has a reputation for being meticulous, leaving no stone unturned when it comes to preparing his teams. The coach who led England’s under-17s to World Cup success in 2017 is also known for his development of young players.
Forest’s hierarchy also wanted a coach who would restore positivity to a dressing room where spirits were on the floor and also engage with the club’s illustrious history rather than be daunted by it.
Second-placed Bournemouth were held to a goalless draw at Sheffield United on Saturday, allowing Forest the chance to further cut the gap
Forest did just that by beating Birmingham, with Scott McKenna (left) scoring their second
Cooper has ticked all of those boxes, exceeding all expectations, and if they don’t go up automatically he’ll hope for third time lucky in the notoriously unpredictable play-offs.
He was part of the Football Association fold as under-17 coach when, during the 2018 World Cup, Gareth Southgate tasked him with keeping tabs on potential last-16 opponents Colombia in their group games.
When England did indeed cross paths with the South Americans, Cooper flew to Russia to give a presentation to Southgate and his coaching team.
‘The tactical detail was incredible,’ goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson told The Guardian. Thoroughly prepared, England beat Colombia on penalties.
At Swansea, players could expect to be called into Cooper’s office individually to watch video clips of an upcoming opponent. ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail,’ was the mantra behind this drilling down into the tactical minutiae.
Cooper’s fist pump celebration after matches has become a common sight in recent weeks
Cooper (right) led the England under-17 side to World Cup glory in India back in 2017
Cooper also came with a good track record of bringing on young players. Let’s not forget that his 2017 England World Cup winners included Phil Foden, Emile Smith Rowe and Jadon Sancho, all top class now.
He has certainly aided the emergence of Brennan Johnson, the 20-year-old Forest academy graduate who has scored 15 goals and assisted with a further seven so far this season.
Johnson has lit up the Championship and there have been plenty of Premier League clubs keeping a close eye on his progress. A £15million bid from Brentford was rejected earlier in the season.
James Garner, the 21-year-old defensive midfielder on loan from Manchester United, and Djed Spence, also 21 and on loan from Middlesbrough, have excelled under Cooper’s guidance.
The average age of Forest’s teams this season has been 25.2 years, the sixth-lowest in the Championship and Cooper has helped them thrive.
Academy graduate Brennan Johnson (right) has enjoyed an outstanding season for Forest
Midfielder James Garner (right), on loan from Manchester United, has also excelled at Forest
Another urgent item in Cooper’s in-tray when he arrived was to banish negative thoughts in the dressing room. One of his early observations was that the players didn’t celebrate goals together, something quickly rectified.
Such is the intensity of the Championship, with matches often every 3-4 days, Cooper has had plenty of opportunity to radiate positivity in his team talks and press conferences.
This filtered through to the squad and complimented a change of system from the balanced 4-2-3-1 under Hughton to variations of 3-4-3 with licence given to flying wing-backs and more courageous attacking play.
A sense of togetherness and team spirit has grown throughout the season, shown by the fact Forest have scored 19 times in the final 15 minutes of games, second only to the champions-elect Fulham.
Cooper hasn’t been daunted by Forest’s illustrious past, including two European Cup wins
Cooper has immersed himself in Forest’s history as well, meeting with the club’s European Cup winners to hear their tales of the glory days he hopes to restore.
The seven remaining games offer ample opportunity for Forest to pile the pressure onto Bournemouth, whose early season consistency has eluded them since.
On Friday, Cooper’s side head to fellow promotion hopefuls Luton with games against West Brom, Peterborough, Fulham, Swansea, Bournemouth and Hull to round off the season.
On paper, Bournemouth’s run-in of Middlesbrough, Coventry, Fulham, Swansea, Blackburn, Forest and Millwall does look marginally tougher.
But even if Forest have to enter the play-off lottery, it will mark an astonishing recovery from the gloomy depths of September when Cooper started his work of restoration.
Forest run-in
Friday Luton Town (A)
Monday West Brom (H)
April 23 Peterborough (A)
April 26 Fulham (A)
April 30 Swansea (H)
May 3 Bournemouth (A)
May 7 Hull (A)
Bournemouth run-in
Friday Middlesbrough (H)
Monday Coventry City (A)
April 23 Fulham (H)
April 26 Swansea (A)
April 30 Blackburn (A)
May 3 Nottingham Forest (H)
May 7 Millwall (H)
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