Brennan Johnson is well and truly establishing himself at Premier League level, with Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper challenging him to keep improving.
The Wales international came to the Reds’ rescue at the City Ground as his brace clinched a 2-2 draw with Everton. Cooper’s side twice had to come from behind to snatch a result which keeps them four points above the 18th-placed Toffees.
For Johnson, the double took his tally to nine goals in all competitions this season. And five of those have come in Forest’s last four league games.
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"There’s always another level to get to, but I'm sure he's on an upward curve,” Cooper said of the 21-year-old.
"He took a little bit of a rocky road before the break, but that was always going to happen. Other young players in the group are going through it now. But at the moment, he's performing really well and getting good numbers.
"As always, it’s about continuing to improve. But I don't mind saying positive things about Brennan because I see how committed he is and how much he wants to get better.
"He knows he still has a long way to go. That's natural because of his age and the fact that this is his first year in the Prem.
"We're really pleased with Bren. He loves the club, he's a local boy who grew up just down the road, so it's great to see him banging two in.
“He only wants to get better, so he won't get too high or too low. The goals were great. His performance was very good.
"People were getting booked tackling him, which means he's taking risks. He had a really good impact on the game.
"Sometimes we build a game-plan thinking, how can we get Morgan (Gibbs-White) and Brennan on the ball? I won't shy away from that. It’s an important part of our team.”
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