The Premier League table makes for pleasant reading, and the recent form stats are just as good.
But for a better understanding of the remarkable job Steve Cooper continues to do at Nottingham Forest, look no further than the dressing room. That will tell you as much as any facts and figures about why there is a growing feeling this can finish as another memorable season on the banks of the Trent.
The Reds didn’t play particularly well against Leeds United; far from it in the first half. The fact they still took all three points says much about the progress which has been made.
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Victory came courtesy of a combination of matchwinners at both ends of the pitch - a goalscorer shining on the big stage and a goalkeeper showing his class - and a manager working his magic. Cooper’s substitutions and tactical adjustments at half-time made a difference, but the sense of unity and identity he has forged among his squad has an impact every bit as important when it comes to achieving results like that.
Team spirit
Ever since the club’s summer overhaul, Cooper has had to field questions about how he can get a new-look group to gel and to play for each other. Plenty of pundits expressed their doubts that such a feat was achievable.
After the January transfer window closed, with seven further signings added, those queries began all over again. Was it too many? Would the head coach have to go back to the beginning with integrating another raft of new players? Would Forest end up going backwards, having made such great strides?
Early in the season, the Reds looked like the group of strangers they were. Now, a glimpse at footage posted on social media of the dressing room on Sunday night shows the bonds which are developing.
Injured striker Taiwo Awoniyi posted a clip of a mass huddle, with Remo Freuler bouncing in the middle. Brennan Johnson uploaded a video of a group dance-off, featuring Jesse Lingard (an unused substitute), Willy Boly, Serge Aurier and Renan Lodi. Even Ryan Yates, who is recovering from illness, was caught in the background, seemingly eating something a little too hot from the food trolley.
Easy to celebrate like that after a win, of course. But it was the team ethic which helped achieve such a result in the first place.
Cooper said: “For the guys to show the togetherness and the teamship they did - and I've accepted we can play a lot better, particularly with the ball, than we did in the first half - really reassures me, because I’m not sure we would have got that a few months ago. Not through the lack of trying, but just through the lack of being together. We should be happy with that.”
Classy keeper
Those fans already inside the City Ground when Keylor Navas ran out for his pre-match warm-up gave him a rousing reception. The PSG loanee touched the turf with his hands as he ran out the tunnel and applauded the crowd back as they made clear their delight at seeing him in a Forest shirt.
By the end, the roar of appreciation had only grown louder. ‘Navas, Navas, Navas’ was the chant as he was named man of the match.
It didn’t take long for a new hero to be born. As early as the second minute, the three-times Champions League winner made a strong save in front of the Trent End to deny Luis Sinisterra. That got them going, and supporters continued to get right behind him.
There is no doubt about Navas’ class or quality. He has a presence about him. Even when he wasn’t making saves, he commanded his area.
When Dean Henderson suffered his thigh injury, there was a debate about whether the Reds needed to sign another goalkeeper or whether they should stick with Wayne Hennessey. Navas’ performance at the weekend more than justified the decision made. Leeds could have been a few goals up at half-time were it not for him.
Henderson was among the players to congratulate him at full-time, giving his new teammate a hug. Cooper faces another dilemma when both are fit, but in the meantime, more displays like that and Navas could earn his side some crucial points. Shutting out Leeds means he has now kept a clean-sheet on his debut in four different competitions across Europe - in the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga and Ligue 1.
Johnson’s strike
Forest have learnt quickly that you have to take your chances in the Premier League. Leeds didn’t take theirs, whereas Johnson smashed in the one which came his way.
It was a heck of a goal; superb technique from the Wales international. When Morgan Gibbs-White’s free-kick wasn’t cleared properly, he hit it first time and it flew past Illan Meslier.
Johnson now looks very much at home in the top level. That was his fifth Premier League goal of the season - only Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, both with seven, have scored more among those players currently aged 21 or younger.
The Reds look better when they have Gibbs-White in the side, too. He is a difference-maker. It was a huge boost to have him available, following an ankle injury.
Where Chris Wood fits into the side is harder to fathom. In his two appearances so far, he has been fairly quiet and Forest have not been able to get the best from him. It is early days, of course, far too soon to be writing him off, but Cooper will need to find a way of getting more out of him, if he is to make the contribution it is hoped he can.
Tactical tweaks
Trying to make the right substitutions can be fraught with difficulty. Cooper got it spot on this time, though. He recognised something needed to change, and the hosts were much better after the break.
Danilo was living on the edge after a booking for a naughty challenge. Taking him off was a wise decision. And if there had been any doubts about why Jack Colback was included in the Reds’ 25-man Premier League squad, he well and truly dispelled them with his second half display. He is exactly the kind of player you’d want in such situations.
Orel Mangala making way at the break also meant Neco Williams moved into a different role, with Serge Aurier coming on at right-back. The latter soon got to grips with the dangerous Wilfried Gnonto, while Williams threatened a few times in attack.
“Neco can play as a full-back, but he's a full-back that likes to get up the pitch, so it's not uncommon for him to have moments like that,” Cooper said.
"We thought two changes was enough, in terms of personnel, particularly when you're 1-0 up. Sometimes you can make two, three or four changes at half-time when you're losing heavily and just need to change things completely.”
The win lifted Forest six points clear of the relegation zone. No other Premier League team has picked up more in 2023 than the 11 points they have notched up. They have not lost at home in the league since being beaten by this weekend’s opponents, Fulham, in mid-September.
Cooper would be the first to stress that such stats only count for something if you keep them going. And if this season ends with top-flight status being retained. There is plenty to be positive about, though.
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