Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper will not take “any risks” when it comes to naming his team to face Hull City on Saturday.
Although normally one for making few tweaks to his starting line-up, the Reds head coach is mindful of the challenge ahead. With the play-offs on the horizon, Cooper says that may affect his starting XI at the weekend.
But there will be no less emphasis on trying to secure a victory which would see Forest finish third in the Championship table. And there is a fine line between leaving players out of the side and looking to build momentum for the matches to come.
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“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t carrying some knocks and some ongoing medical issues with some players, like Yatesy with his shoulder,” Cooper said. “There’s certainly some situations where we won’t take any risks.
“We played eight games in April, followed quickly by another one on Tuesday night. Nine games in nearly a month is really heavy going and it will take its toll. And it has.
“But we are in great shape, confidence is high and spirits are really good. We feel very confident about the situation that we’re in.
“Will there be a different approach to the weekend? Some of it will be forced a little bit and there will be some things we have to think about.
“I don’t think you can say anything is the right or wrong plan. You have to go with what you think, and taking all sorts of information on board, from medical, sports science and what you see from the players.
“In the end, all players will want to play. They will want to finish the season strong and try to finish third.
“If people are carrying niggles and knocks, this isn’t the time to take risks. But I’m also not sure it’s the time for people who are feeling good to stop.
“We’re going through the process as normal. I’ll decide on the team in due course, and what we think is the right plan to try to win the game and finish third.
“It doesn’t change from training or games, with players wanting to do well. We’ve talked a lot this year about the strength of players who have come into the team or come on the pitch, and the strength of the group. That doesn’t change one bit.
“All footballers want to play games and want to start. There won’t be any players here thinking, ‘I hope I get a rest at the weekend’.
“There might be a few thinking, physically and in terms of injuries, it might be a good idea. But I know the players will want to play at the weekend - and so they should.”
Forest are still without loanees Keinan Davis and Max Lowe due to injury. Midfielder Ryan Yates took a knock to the shoulder in Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, while Jack Colback, Philip Zinckernagel and Sam Surridge were listed as injury doubts prior to last Saturday’s win over Swansea City.
Defender Steve Cook is unlikely to be involved against the Tigers. He was left with a bloody gash following a clash of heads against the Cherries, and his father was “brought back to life” by paramedics after suffering a cardiac arrest before the game.
