Steve Cooper has told his Nottingham Forest squad they must “face up to the reality” of their dismal league position.
But the Reds boss is confident he has a group of players who are up for the challenge of clawing their way out of the relegation zone. And he insists there is no question they have the right attitude for the task ahead.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers made it eight league games without a win for Forest. They head to Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday night (7.30pm kick-off) sitting bottom of the table with five points to their name.
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Cooper was also particularly irked by the manner in which his side lost at Molineux, bemoaning their in-possession play and lack of attacking threat. He accepts that for the team to progress, both results and performances need to improve.
“We have got to face up to our league position; face up to the reality of it. Don't have the mindset of ‘ah, we’ll be alright’ or ‘things will improve’. Make it happen,” said the Welshman.
“Don't look further than Brighton, and do whatever it takes to get a positive result and performance there, because before we know it it will be the next game, the next game and the next game. We can't do that, we have to have all focus on Brighton and do whatever it takes to succeed there.
“We’ve got to have the attitude of being very good today and very good in the next game. If we have that mentality of waiting, then who knows, it could be too late.
“I am 100 percent convinced the players are up for it, and that is the bit that drives me more. Everyone knows how much I love being at the club and what it means to me, but the day to day stuff of seeing the players care - whether it is through meetings, through training or through conversations - it gives me a lot of reassurance that we are trying our very best to improve. And that is a feeling that I get every day. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t think it.
“We have got to keep that going, particularly while we’re in the league position we are in, because, one thing is for sure, to improve, first and foremost, you need to have the right attitude, commitment, character and personality. All of those things have got to be at a player’s very best - and the staff, including myself. We have to keep that going.
Cooper continued: “I really believe in this set of players. First and foremost, I look for attitude and desire to be part of something that is for the greater good. And I really feel that.
“The boys are together. They are. That’s a starting point for us to build a way.
“Results will always write the narrative - and rightly so. But I’ve got to look a bit deeper than that and go, ‘okay, if results write the narrative and we want good ones, then how do we improve?’. We’ve got to look at the process - things like connections on the pitch, in possession, out of possession. We’ve got to be analysing this stuff and working on this stuff every single day.
“In the end, if your work is good and the attitude is right, then you give yourselves the best chance of getting to the level. That’s what we are aiming to do.
“This is a time when we all need each other and need to support each other. We definitely need to challenge each other as well, because we’ve got to stick together. We’ve got to stick together, and we’ve got to make sure we pull each other as much as we can.”
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