Steve Cooper’s position as Nottingham Forest head coach is understood to be safe, ahead of next week’s clash with Aston Villa.
A run of five straight defeats had put the head coach’s job in jeopardy, with several names already being linked as potential replacements, should a change be made. Cooper had been at risk of the axe on the back of Monday night’s 4-0 thumping at Leicester City.
However, talks between the club’s hierarchy on Wednesday afternoon are said to have resulted in a decision to give the Welshman more time at the helm as he grapples with getting a new-look squad to gel. It is understood he will be in the City Ground dugout against Villa next Monday night.
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According to The Telegraph, owner Evangelos Marinakis held talks with other high-level board members to discuss Cooper’s future. It is said there was a unanimous decision to stick with the manager, with Marinakis, chairman Nicholas Randall QC and non-executive director Jonny Owen proving influential in discussions.
After defeat to the Foxes, Cooper had said of his own situation: “I’m not thinking about that. I understand where the question comes from, but I’m not thinking about my personal situation, apart from how I can be at my best every single day.
“The tougher and harder it gets, the harder I work and the more it means to me. Hopefully that’s what leadership is, standing up and being counted, trying to be a role model within the training ground.
“It’s a poor run of results. The stats, with chances and goals we are conceding, are not good. We are trying to address it.
“What I would say is, you didn’t see the team give up. I know it’s a group of players that care, even though we are new. Sometimes you can feel that it isn’t that, and I’m not sensing that at the moment.
“We’re just trying to put loads of layers of our work to become the team we want to be. We’re not that at the moment.”
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