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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Sarah Clapson

'Party pooper' - Steve Cooper has clear message as Nottingham Forest set up Liverpool FA Cup tie

Head coach Steve Cooper wants Nottingham Forest to harness the winning mentality they are creating at the City Ground, having clinched their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

The Reds saw off Huddersfield Town, 2-1, on the banks of the Trent to set up a home clash with Premier League giants Liverpool in the next round.

It puts them one game away from reaching a semi-final at Wembley, with a promotion push also still on the cards as the Championship season reaches its climax.

But Cooper says his focus will quickly turn to a league meeting with Reading at the weekend, rather than looking ahead to a date with Jurgen Klopp’s men.

“I’m only focused on Reading now. That’s the only thing on my mind,” he said.

“We’ll be ready for it when it comes around. We’ll be ready to attack the game and enjoy it. But let’s look at Reading first.

“Every game we go into, we want to play with an identity. If we really want the mentality, the culture and the environment we want here, you can’t just turn it on and off. It’s got to be an every day behaviour.

“The boys will enjoy themselves in the dressing room, but I’ve said to them, when they leave they have to have only one thing on their mind - and that’s Saturday’s game.”

In front of a bumper crowd, the hosts came from behind after Tom Lees had opened the scoring for the Terriers.

Sam Surridge netted his first goal for the club to equalise, before Ryan Yates scored what proved to be the decisive goal before the break.

“You see the atmosphere in here, we have an obligation to make the people proud. We have an obligation to ensure the people associate with the team,” Cooper said.

“That’s really important to me, because as soon as you come through the gates, you can feel it.

“We’re making steps towards that. But it’s not a time to talk about what we’ve done, because the reality is we’ve done nothing. It’s about what’s next and what we can do.

“Nights like this help. But at the same time, we’ve got to make sure we have the same feeling on Saturday.

“When playing Liverpool comes round, it will be amazing. We will really look forward to it when it comes around.

“But, and I’m sorry to be a party pooper, let’s chat about it then.”

What did you make of Forest's performance? Have your say in the comments below

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