Nottingham Forest will be looking to put a difficult week behind them when they make the trip to Leeds United on Monday.
Saturday’s second half collapse against Bournemouth made it three defeats in a row for the Reds. With 21 new players having been brought in during the summer transfer window, the challenge for boss Steve Cooper is to get his squad to gel quickly.
The Welshman will get valuable time on the training ground with his players this week. And with plenty to talk about, Forest correspondent Sarah Clapson held a live Q&A, answering fans’ questions and responding to comments. Here’s how it panned out.
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Q: Tuchel and Parker already gone. Will Cooper get more time?
A: Football's certainly a ruthless business, seems like managerial changes start happening earlier every season. For me, Cooper's position shouldn't even be a point of discussion right now.
It would be a heck of a job for any manager, getting a squad with 21 new players to gel quickly while also figuring out your strongest XI. But creating a sense of unity and team spirit is one of Cooper's strengths. We saw how he managed that last season.
Of course there's pressure on every manager to get results. But you can't run before you can walk in the PL. It was always going to take time to settle into the division and for players to bed in. Hopefully that's something which is appreciated and taken on board.
Q: Have conceded 9 goals and scoring only 2 in the past two games and an average of one shot on target per game, it is clear major changes are needed. Is Cooper willing to drop the players who are out of their league and it's clear some of them are?
A: Forest absolutely do need to tighten up and find a way of getting the best out of the attacking talent in the squad - but six of those goals came against Man City, who were on a completely different level, and will be to the vast majority of teams this season. Not saying there aren't areas to work on - clearly there are - but think it's worth taking that into account.
Also think it's too early to be completely writing players off. A week ago, a lot of those players were being praised for how they played against Spurs. Not trying to get away from the fact it was a terrible second half on Saturday, but not sure the answer is completely ripping up the team and making wholesale changes against Leeds. Do think there will be some, but if the manager is trying to get the side to gel, chopping and changing all the time isn't going to help.
I'd also add that we're not privy to what goes on in training; how match-fit some of the new signings are etc. That's the manager's judgement call - and more often than not during his time in charge, he's got his selection decisions right. There's an argument for saying he didn't on Saturday, but that hasn't happened too often.
Q: I can’t see Forest getting a win over their next two games - if so, do you think Cooper’s job will be under threat?
A: If there's one thing we know about football, it's that there's always pressure on managers. It comes with the job description. There's pressure every week to get a result. For me, though, there shouldn't even be a discussion about whether Cooper's job is under threat right now.
There's no sugar-coating Saturday's second half and what happened. It was a poor 45 minutes. But before that, I thought it had been an encouraging start to the season - plenty to work on and improve at, but some positives to build on. It was only a week earlier that Forest were getting loads of praise for the performance against Spurs.
Three defeats in a row is never good, especially when that includes throwing away a 2-0 lead at home. But I think you take the Spurs and Man City games in isolation, as it was always going to be difficult to get results against them. There was a lot of raw emotion after Saturday, which is understandable, but think there's got to be some perspective and patience.
It was always going to take time to settle into this season, particularly with all the changes in personnel. The PL is new for Cooper, too, don't forget - but he is a quick learner. Think there's got to be some allowance for this squad gelling and trying to find a settled XI. Forest were bringing in players right up until the deadline, so time is still needed to get to know them and work out the best combinations.
Cooper and the players will have been as disappointed and frustrated as everyone else with what happened against Bournemouth - probably even more so. He said afterwards that he wants to show he can manage Forest in the tough times as well as the good. Any time there's been a small setback before, Forest have responded under him, so there's a chance to do that again now.
Having a week on the training ground will be a big help - for the reasons mentioned above; giving chance to get to know the most recent additions. See how Monday night and then the game against Fulham pans out, but don't think we can write those off as games Forest aren't going to win.
They're important games, for sure. Need to stop the run of defeats, so I'd take a point at Elland Road. Important that the players don't let what happened against Bournemouth affect them. Get it out of their system. Cooper has shown his excellent man-management skills before, so he's the best person to have in place for that.
Q: Watching our games from afar via TV, we seem unable to cope with the speed of the EPL, worrying this includes speed of thought and movement, too many players are struggling with their first touch making us look slower and clumsy in possession. Is Steve confident that we will quickly address this? We can't afford too many defeats against our rivals in the bottom 12 places of the division.
A: The athleticism of the PL was something Cooper specifically spoke about a couple of weeks ago. That was one of the factors which came into his thinking when putting the finishing touches to his squad.
He knows it's something they have to deal with. Think some players are still getting up to full match fitness - and a few came in pretty late in the window.
I think it's a case of adjusting to the PL on a number of different levels, including everything you mentioned - physical, technical, speed of play etc. It was always going to be a big ask to expect things to click into place straight away. Some players are still adjusting to the PL.
Agree with you to an extent. Think it's about finding the right balance, and playing to the strengths of whoever is out there on the pitch. A long way to go yet. Players and manager well aware improvements are needed. Personally, think it's important to tighten up a bit first. Stop the run of defeats
Don't mean that to be negative, and not suggesting Forest park the bus at Leeds - for a start, that's not Cooper's way, and he's generally been very keen to focus on what his team can do rather than the opposition. But as a team, think the foundation has to be becoming tough to beat. Work on making sure the defence has a bit more protection at times, and that attacking players help out by tracking back.
The rest will come. Need that platform to build on first, though, for me. You can't run before you can walk in the PL. There's plenty of attacking quality in the squad, once they gel and the manager finds the right formula to get the best out of them, have no doubt they will then be able to show what they can do.
What have you made of Forest's start to the season? Have your say in the comments below
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