Steve Cooper, Manager Nottingham Forest: “Our mindset is to look forward."

During 1998-2001 I lived in Nottingham, working at Boots’ Headquarters on their OTC business.

I used to go and watch Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. They were relegated from the Premier League in 1999 but last summer, after the longest ever wait (23 years), Nottingham Forest celebrated their return to the Premier League. They had played 1,069 league and play-off games trying to get back to top-flight football.

When I was watching them (back in the 1990s) the notion that two-time European Cup winners Forest would spend the next two decades outside of the Premier League seemed utterly impossible.

At the start of the 2021-22 season, they made their poorest start to a season for 108 years, collecting just one point from their first seven games. This paved the way for the transformative appointment of heroic manager Steve Cooper in September 2021.

In eight months, the Welshman took Forest from bottom of the Championship (2nd division) league table, oversaw their best FA Cup run for a quarter of a century, guided them to their first top-six finish for 11 years, and their win at the Wembley play-off final in May 2022 took them back to the Premier League.

During the 2022-23 season, Steve Cooper has completely rebuilt the team, made 29 signings over the course of two transfer windows, faced alarming injury challenges, and used a total of 33 players.

Cooper never made it a secret of how tough the leadership challenge has been, with many difficult and uncomfortable moments along the way.

This weekend they magnificently beat 2nd in the table Arsenal 1-0, and secured their status as a Premier League team for next season.

Steve Cooper has not only managed to unite Nottingham and the crowd at the City Ground, he has constantly paid tribute to the fans’ tireless support through good and bad times. “We know we have amazing fans and at home we feel it even more”, he recently said. (The team have secured 30 of their 37 points so far at home, and won just 7 points away from home.)

But what is Steve's secret to leadership?

Steve Cooper focuses a lot on “daily behaviours”, open communication and encourages players to voice their opinions. He doesn’t tolerate anyone damaging the sense of togetherness and team spirit.

Watching Nottingham Forest play this year is a showcase of how a manager can adapt to a new situation. More often than not, the team only shows a ball possession of 20-30%, but is deadly in counter-attack, relentlessly sticking to their game plan, and striking the opponent when the right time comes.

Repeatedly, Steve Cooper states that the team’s “mindset is to look forward.” He is quick to learn from mistakes and focuses all his and the team’s efforts on the game to come and what they can control.

His love of the players is endless, and he recently stated: “I just want these players to know that I’m their biggest supporter and I will love them and give them everything through thick and thin. It doesn’t mean I’m soft with them, doesn’t mean I’m not demanding and challenging them, but in the end, everybody loves to be loved and that’s what we’ve tried to do with these players. We’ve got behind them and stuck with them.”

One key player underlined: “he’s come in and given us that hope and belief and just been so nice, he’s killed us with kindness. The fans absolutely adore him.”

Who are your heroes? Who do you admire? Who are your role models?

Nottingham Forest FC: Overview | LinkedIn