Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has challenged James Garner to finish the season on a high by continuing the progress he has made.
In his second spell at the City Ground, the Manchester United loanee has gone from strength to strength under Cooper. With some commanding performances in the centre of the pitch, he has been integral to the Reds’ rise up the Championship table.
On the back of impressing in the second half of last term at Forest, it took Garner a little time to get going after re-signing in the summer. He initially found himself out of the XI following the change in manager.
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But he has really hit his stride of late, including netting his fourth goal of the campaign against Coventry City last week. And as his team chase promotion, Cooper wants to see the midfielder get even better.
“He’s definitely been on an upward trajectory, probably since he got back in the team,” said the head coach. “He came on against Reading (in November), and then he got in the team after that.
“He’s performed really, really well. I spoke to him at length the other week about that. And he did well for England Under-21s as well.
“It’s about him understanding that he’s playing well, but, more importantly, understanding why he’s playing well and making sure he doesn’t take any backward steps in not producing game in, game out. I really think he’s found his athletic legs now for the Championship. He’s a strong runner.
“He’s able to produce that game in, game out. And we know he has the ability.
“He is a very good example of making sure he finishes the season off strong, because there’s still so much to play for and so many minutes to play. He’s doing really well, but now is not the time to think about how well he’s doing - now is the time to play even better in the next game.
“He’s good for a goal, too. He’s around the set-pieces a lot with his delivery, and he’s a good technician.
“He had a wonderful half-volley diagonal pass against Coventry. When it dropped, you had a feeling he was going to connect with it nicely. I think Brennan got in the way - I think the pass was for Djed!
“He’s got really good technique. His out-of-possession game might go a little bit under the radar, but that’s been really good as well. He reads and intercepts some really important passes, and that’s as pleasing for me as the other stuff.”
