Former Nottingham Forest academy graduate Jermaine Jenas responded to Gary Lineker’s question over Steve Cooper in the perfect way, when talking about the head coach on Match of the Day.
Since joining the club back in September 2021, the manager has led Forest from the bottom of the Championship to the Premier League. A 1-1 draw against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday means that the Reds currently sit in 13th place in the Premier League table, four points clear of the bottom three.
The result also means that Forest are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games, picking up two wins and two draws. The results come after the side had a difficult start to the season, leading to speculation over the manager’s future.
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Following a 4-0 away loss against Leicester City back in October, Cooper was among the favourite Premier League managers to be sacked. He instead signed a new contract with the club.
It’s a decision by Evangelos Marinakis that was praised by Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy. “Fantastic, and it just shows you if you are patient and give managers a bit of time, they will show their quality,” he said during the analysis of the Bournemouth draw. “He is a good manager.
Presenter Lineker then makes a suggestion that could see Cooper move on from the City Ground. “Next England manager? I’ll throw that out early,” he said. Murphy agreed, saying: “It’s a good shout.”
But while Jenas does agree that it is something that could happen in the future, he sent a message over the immediate future of the Forest boss.
“Potentially, yeah, he’s already worked with them at the England team,” Jenas said. “He’s more than good enough, and Forest fans are loving him, so he can stay put for now, thank you very much Gary.
Lineker then replied with: “I’d thought you’d bite eventually.”
Forest are next in action on Wednesday night when they take on Manchester United in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at the City Ground. A win would give them an advantage going into the second leg a week later.
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