Head coach Steve Cooper reiterated his stance that he isn’t thinking about his own future after Nottingham Forest dropped into the bottom three for the first time since January.
Amid talk about the Welshman’s position, owner Evangelos Marinakis publicly backed him in midweek, with the Greek seeking to put an end to “speculation”. But he also stressed results must improve “immediately”.
That did not happen at Villa Park, with the Reds’ winless run extending to nine games as they fell 2-0. After a decent first half in which they frustrated Aston Villa while also offering some promise on the counterattack, a poor individual error from Jonjo Shelvey proved costly. Bertrand Traore gratefully accepted the chance to net the opener, and Ollie Watkins rubbed salt in Forest’s wound in added time.
