A 2-0 loss against Tottenham on Friday night at the City Ground means that Forest now have just one win in their last 13 league games. It has also seen them drop to just one position above the relegation zone, although they are still five points clear of Luton Town in 18th, the Hatters do have a game in hand.
There has been speculation over Cooper for the last few weeks, with it intensifying following a disappointing 5-0 loss against Fulham earlier this month. Forest did though bounce back with a draw against Wolves, with the fighting spirit shown appearing to have saved the manager.
Forest are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they take on Bournemouth at the City Ground. The home fans are again expected to show their support for the manager.
Following the 1-1 draw against Wolves last week it was claimed that Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was ready to give Cooper “more time to turn around” the club’s season . The Welshman was under big pressure heading into the game against Wolves, following a 5-0 defeat vs Fulham, but a battling draw seemed to buy the manager more time.
It was claimed that Marinakis was “impressed by the spirit and fight” shown by the players during the draw at Molineux. It was something that “eased” the immediate pressure on the Forest boss.
Ahead of the Premier League game against Tottenham on Friday night, Cooper spoke about the pressure on him . When asked if he had been given any assurances by the club’s board he said: “I don’t need any reassurances.
“For me, it is to stay true to yourself. I only focus on my job, and that is the relationship with the people I work with every single day, the players and staff, and commit to what we believe is the way of working which we have done for a couple of years.
“I say it every time I get asked a question like this, I really don’t focus on anything other than what I am in control of. That is working as hard as I can every day, doing my best and hopefully helping to provide a service to the players to get ready for the next game. That is how it will always be with me.
“There’s always something to be spoken about. When you are on good runs it is easy to get carried away and when you are on bad runs it is easy to over-emphasise negative things.
“It is really important to focus on what you are in control of because everything else will take care of itself. There will always be more than one view on anything and I am OK with that.
“The only thing I’m focused on is my work and my relationship with the people I am with every day. I’m trying to do my very best for this football club that I absolutely love being at and am giving everything for.
“When you have had a couple of years like we’ve had and the journey we’ve been on, you don’t give it up lightly and you certainly stand up for it in any moment. That’s how I feel.
“Every day that passes I get even prouder and more privileged to be here. When we have had some poor results, that’s when I really want to be here. It’s easy to be a football manager when things are good, but when you want supporters to see who a manager really is is in the difficult moments. That’s what I intend to do.”
The Sky Sports pundit was not sure if the 2-0 loss against Tottenham on Friday night would lead to the dismissal of Cooper at Forest, but he did pick out the key difference between the two teams on the night.
“It’s difficult. They are playing against a good team, a team that is causing a lot of the best teams in the country problems,” he told Sky Sports after the game. “One win in 13 is going to bring pressure, real pressure and it’s what the owner wants to do ultimately and whether he wants to keep Steve Cooper or not.
“The fans obviously want to keep him – this is not a case of a dressing room lost, this is a case of a dressing room fighting and trying their hardest, and a lack of quality and goal threat up front, no sense of purpose or combinations.
“They are challenging and harassing, but they are a little bit basic compared to the team they played tonight – the quality stood out tonight, especially up top for Spurs.”
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