When Steve Cooper was appointed to Nottingham Forest last September, he arrived with only an initial goal.
To get out of the drop zone.
The Reds had started the season miserably with Chris Hughton and were left at the bottom of the league table after six defeats in the first seven games. They were also 20 after eight games last season, and there were no signs of a rare challenge for promotion.
Eight months later, Cooper’s side are in the play-off finals, where they will face Huddersfield, hoping to regain a place in the Premier League after almost a quarter of a century out.
Image: Steve Cooper replaces Chris Hughton as head of Nottingham Forest last September
There is no doubt that they deserve to be in this position. In the 38 league games that followed on September 21, no team scored more points than Forest (76), lost fewer games (six) or conceded fewer goals (28). In fact, only the eventual champions Fulham equaled their total of victories (22) and surpassed their number of goals scored (66 against 88).
Transforming the fortunes of a team like the Welshman has done in such a short time is almost unheard of in the Championship, which is notoriously one of the most unpredictable divisions.
So how did he do it?
“It was still pretty early in the season [when I joined]with seven or eight games gone, so there was still a lot to play for, “he told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview ahead of Sunday’s trip to Wembley.
“We had three days before the international break and we agreed with the players that when the international break came, we would be beyond the points line in the relegation zone. None of us liked to see where we were. they were.
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“We got a draw here against Millwall and then we beat Barnsley and Birmingham away and we played well. The truth is that the international break came at a good time because we were given the opportunity to work a little with the team. .
“We’ve done it step by step. Sometimes I feel a little paranoid that the local media has heard me say ‘next game’ week after week, but that’s literally what it has been. There have been a couple of times. I just took a look at the league table and even though we did very well this year, it looked like we weren’t going anywhere.
“After Christmas, maybe February, March, we did. We kept our shape, then we went into the top 10, we went in and out of the top six. We knew April would be a pivotal month in terms of where we were. .I would finish in the league because we had eight games and we managed to win seven and lose one against Luton.
“We were so busy that we didn’t even think about the play-offs because the automatic was in sight, so we didn’t have to go through the drama of whether or not to get into the play-offs; we did. Unconsciously while trying to choose by the automatic “.
Due to Brian Clough’s legendary 18-year tenure at City Ground, which included the 1978/79 and 1979/80 European Cup victories, Forest has been seen as a sleeping giant since his final Premier League relegation. League under Ron Atkinson in 1999.
Image: The Welshman took Swansea to the league play-offs in the last two seasons
Cooper knows all about history and hopes to write a new chapter on the banks of the River Trent, drawing inspiration from his predecessors.
“Regardless of what happens over the weekend – and we go there to win, we go there to play well, we go there with a lot of motivation – this football club is something different,” he added.
“It’s something special. I think this football club is based on times of success, and not just trophies and memories, but the values and principles of Nottingham Forest. Anyway, I was very aware of that before come in because “I’m a bit of a football nerd, if you will, and I’ve seen all the documentaries about success and Brian Clough’s documentaries and so on.
“We will always put ourselves on their shoulders, and we want, I want to do it, but we want to be proud of them by saying ‘This is who we are’, to try to create a positive next chapter.
“I have known many of the European Cup winning teams and I am fascinated by their stories, but probably more fascinated by their love for the club because they are very strong and many of them still come to matches, a Many of them still they’re visible on the training ground now. We’re with them.
“Embrace it, be proud of it, represent it well, but at the same time, be very clear that we also want to create a positive next step.”
Above all, he wants to regain pride for the suffering fans.
“I can’t think of a game where there has been a replacement seat in Forest’s assignment. Throughout the season I’ve been very clear to the team and even to the local media that our job is to be a team. of which the club can be proud.If we want the support we want – everyone wants to be well supported – then you have to play your part too.
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Ahead of Sunday’s Champions League play-off final, Nottingham Forest fans are excited about the prospect of returning to the Premier League for the first time since 1999.
“We’ve tried to put our grain of sand and the fans are behind us; we have to try to build on this amazing connection, especially at City Ground, between the fans. It’s a unique atmosphere when the team plays well. fans are left behind, but even when you watch the second semifinal when things didn’t go as planned, the audience improved and pushed us forward.
“The fans have been brilliant this year and it has been a great example of what this club means to everyone. We have the older generation, with respect, who have seen the good times and many young faces watching. who is really buying the club, and then everyone in between.
“It’s a pleasure to see all the generations of fans and diversity that are really behind the football club. We must continue, if we can, to do our best, committed to how we play and hopefully all of that will continue. .
“The more fans say positive things, the more paranoid I feel about not disappointing people. And not disappointing anyone is just being 100% focused on trying to help the team get ready for the next game and grow our way of working. “Everything we do is for the fans, and if we keep that connection, it will give us a real chance.”
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Highlights of the return of the semi-final of the championship play-off between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United.
His focus is so narrow that he is unlikely to be referenced himself, but it will be natural for Cooper to set his own play-off record on Sunday.
For the past two seasons, the first two in senior management, Cooper led Swansea to the championship playoffs. In 2020, his team was beaten 3-2 overall by Brentford in the semi-finals and in 2021, he was beaten 2-0 by the Bees in the final at Wembley.
Because Covid limits attendance to both, this will be the first in front of a crowded capacity and a completely different fish kettle.
“All you can do is step back in some of the big games you’ve played, and we’ve had a lot of important games here this season,” he says.
“I have personally played in some big games with Swansea [as well as] World Cup finals and European Championship finals [with England youth teams]. You have to go back and ask the players and staff to also take advantage of their experiences and ask what went well, what we could have done better and then try to incorporate it into what we are doing here now, how we are as a group and try to be the best version of us at Wembley.
“I don’t think there’s a secret sauce or complete science to taking the experience and making sure it works; I don’t think it’s just trying to go beyond your instincts and follow the plan you believe in and see where it takes you.
“What I really want them to do is delve into what it took to get to this place and try to repeat and try not to get too caught up in the magnitude of the game, the event that Wembley offers you. The number of people there.
“It’s hard, I guess. When it comes to that, if we want to succeed, we have to perfect what we have control over and that’s our performance.”