Head coach Steve Cooper says Jesse Lingard alone shouldn’t be in the spotlight amid Nottingham Forest’s tough start to the Premier League season.
The Welshman has stressed that for the Reds’ results and position in the table to improve, a collective effort is required. That involves the whole team putting in a much better performance than against Arsenal last week - Lingard included.
The former Manchester United man has struggled to make an impact since his summer move to the City Ground. His arrival came with plenty of fanfare and a great deal of expectation, but he has been in and out of the team, and is yet to register a goal or an assist in his 11 appearances so far.
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He had Forest’s two best chances in their 5-0 thumping at the Emirates Stadium, but was closer to hitting the corner flag with one of them. And with less than an hour gone, he was brought off, getting plenty of stick from the home crowd as he departed.
“In a game like last week’s, it’s difficult to talk about one player, because it was about the collective - just like it was the week before, against Liverpool,” Cooper said ahead of Saturday’s clash at home to Brentford. “And it’s not going to be any one-man show, or even two or three, it’s going to be a real collective.
“That’s not just the players, it includes myself and the staff, and the supporters when we are playing. Anything we do - win, lose or draw - we want to do it together.
“I understand around Jesse, because of where he’s played his football before and having been on the international stage there will always be a bit of extra interest. But we don’t think like that; we treat him the same as everyone else.
“What I do know is Jesse is working really hard on the training ground. He is a very positive influence around the place in a professional way, and, like everyone else, we are all aiming to improve in order to improve our situation.
“I am not one for treating anyone any different. We want to treat everyone the same, because that’s what is needed if we’re going to be as together as we need to be.”
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