Team bonding has been a key aspect of Nottingham Forest’s winter training camp in Greece, ahead of the Premier League’s return.
The Reds rounded off their week-long trip with a 1-0 defeat to fellow Evangelos Marinakis-owned club Olympiacos on Saturday night. They had also played a behind-closed-doors match against Atromitos during their stay in Athens.
But in addition to a focus on matters on the pitch, time spent together as a squad has also been beneficial for Steve Cooper’s side. The hope is that can pay off in the second half of the campaign, when their battle for survival resumes.
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Following a dressing room overhaul in the summer, it took a while for a new-look group to gel at the start of the season. However, they had made positive strides before the World Cup break and had begun to look more like a team - a unity which has only strengthened over the past week.
“We have definitely got what we wanted out of the week, in terms of some togetherness, some training and some criteria stuff that we’ve looked at with our game that we wanted to speak to the players about,” Cooper said.
“By coming away, you just have more access to the players and they have more access to us. And, more importantly, they have more access to each other.
“It’s things like having meals together. Even in the hotel, there’s been a lot of meals where players have interacted with each other more than they normally would do. You naturally get that from coming away. As a staff, we’ve spent a lot of time discussing stuff and having meetings.
“I didn’t like us in the first half (against Olympiacos). We should be better than that, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve been very clear with the boys about that.
“Particularly with it being our first proper game back, I wanted a real intensity and excitement about playing again. It shouldn’t have been as flat as what it was.
“But we got it in the second half, when we made some changes and reminded the players of what we should be. If there was going to be a difficult half or start to a game - and there’s no guarantees in any game that you do well, start well, play well, all of those positive things - I would rather it was this first half than in a couple of games’ time. But you’ve got to earn the right in any game you play.”
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