Bullish Steve Cooper dismisses suggestions he was ready to say goodbye to Nottingham Forest

Planet Sport writer
10 December 2023

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper drew a lot of confidence from the clubs draw at Wolves in the Premier League over the weekend.

The manager, who turned 44 on Sunday, has been under mounting pressure and reportedly one defeat from the sack.

But a battling 1-1 draw – after Matheus Cunha cancelled out Harry Toffolo’s opener – kept Forest 16th in the Premier League and ended a four-game losing run.

Cooper saluted the travelling fans afterwards but insisted he was not saying farewell.

“That’s the last thing it was,” he said. “I was saying thank you for the support, you’ve spent a lot of money this week and dragged the players through challenging times in the game and have a safe journey home. I was just full of gratitude.

“The togetherness in the group is so strong. There was a real desire to show who we really are, which is a team and a club which has progressed in the past two years.

“We had it a couple of times last year where, naturally with it being our first year back – and now this is our second – we are going to go through spells where you don’t win games and you are just looking for something to cling on to and then build on.

“We did some stuff last year when we found ourselves in the same position. It was just an example of that.”

Cunha levelled before half time with his fifth goal of the season but it at least extended Wolves’ unbeaten home run to six.

They remain comfortably clear of trouble in mid-table but the forward admitted the squad came away disappointed with a point.

He told the club’s official site: “We are a little bit frustrated because we really wanted to win this game. Of course, getting three points in the Premier League is not easy but it was still a little bit hard for us to take that we only got one point when we wanted three.

“We always play well at Molineux, but we need to keep going and I hope we can keep improving.

“It wasn’t the best day for us, it was only one point. We all feel we should have done more but we need to keep going so we can get three points in the next game.”