Steve Cooper poised for stay of execution at Nottingham Forest after draw against Wolves
Steve Cooper’s future at Nottingham Forest remains on a knife-edge but his players are fighting for him and the fans at Molineux chanted his name from start to finish.
Cooper axed seven players from the 5-0 debacle at Fulham on Wednesday and reshaped his formation to be rewarded with a battling performance, which could alleviate some of the scrutiny on his position as head coach.
With former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui and ex-Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner understood to have already been sounded out, Forest have been considering making a change in technical area.
Cooper has secured just one win from 12 matches yet this was a vastly improved performance and he may now be given a stay of execution for Friday’s visit of Tottenham.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis’s son, Miltiadis, was in the directors’ box here to witness Cooper waving farewell to the away fans and patting his heart after the final whistle.
“I was saying thanks for your support and safe journey home. I’m just full of gratitude,” he said. “I’m really proud of the team, the spirit and the togetherness. It’s not about playing for me, it’s about playing for each other.
“If you consider all the sideshow that’s been going on, especially after Fulham, it was about showing personality and mentality. The spirit was back to where it should be. I want to represent the city and the supporters. I’ve been here before and don’t worry about anything else apart from this club continuing to improve.”
After another mammoth spend of around £100 million in the summer transfer window, Marinakis will be expecting more after targeting a top-10 finish this season. While their run of results is alarming, the club is also only five points above the relegation zone.
Forest could have removed some of the doubt around Cooper’s job prospects but Harry Toffolo somehow missed a glorious chance from four yards in the second half.
Wolves have now gone six matches unbeaten at Molineux yet this was not one of their better performances under Gary O’Neil.
Before kick-off their fans staged a protest against Var, after suffering a string of bewildering, poor decisions this season, by holding up cards bearing the words “Enough is enough”.
Fortunately, there were no controversial moments to contend with in an underwhelming Midlands derby that contained none of the bile that afflicted the games last season.
O’Neil said: “There’s a tinge of disappointment from me but once we take a step back and have a look at where we are it’s positive where we are points wise.
“It’s been a tough three games this week but four points from the three is a good return and 19 from however many it is, is good.
“Forest have been through a small tough run, if you look at the club as a whole since they have been promoted they’ve invested a lot of money.
“Of course we want to be able to beat them but fair play to the players for digging in and making sure we came out with a point because it would have been a real catastrophe if we hadn’t.”
The chants for Cooper from the travelling supporters started after just 35 seconds, and at least this time his players displayed the necessary scrapping qualities. Forest started impressively, and took a 14th-minute lead when Toffolo headed in a Neco Williams cross.
Wolves had been poor but recovered to equalise after a sweeping finish from Matheus Cunha 12 minutes before the break.
Forest always retained a level of control, though, and Cheikhou Kouyate – making his first league start since April – wasted a glorious chance to put them ahead before half-time when his tame shot was saved by Jose Sa.
With the game becoming increasingly tense, Cooper was booked by referee Sam Barrott for foul and abusive language.
Cooper was wheeling around with his head in his hands 20 minutes from time when Toffolo produced an inexplicable miss from four yards, somehow nodding another Williams cross over the bar.
Cunha was denied by Matt Turner as time ticked away, with Forest’s fans continuing to sing the name of Cooper right up to the end.
