Head coach Steve Cooper eased concerns over the enforced early departure of Serge Aurier in Nottingham Forest’s friendly defeat to Olympiacos.
The defender seemed to have picked up a knock in the final minutes of the Reds’ 1-0 loss at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. He was replaced by Loic Mbe Soh as Cooper’s side brought their week-long training camp to a close.
Forest started with a strong side against their fellow Evangelos Marinakis-owned club. A number of changes were then made at half-time and during the second half, to spread the minutes throughout the squad.
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READ MORE: Forest boss Cooper delivers verdict on friendly defeat to Olympiacos
“Some of the changes we had to make a little bit earlier or later than we planned - nothing to do with knocks or injuries. Serge had a bit of fatigue at the end, so we had to change him right at the end,” Cooper said.
“We had a plan, in terms of what we wanted the team to be and partnerships. More or less, we managed to stick to it.
“There might be a few knocks. It’s not pre-season; it’s a mid-season break.
“It was only a few weeks ago that the players were playing 90 minutes, and we’ve kept them fit with their programmes and training. It’s not like in pre-season, where they can’t play more than an allocated amount of time. We managed to get some good minutes into some lads.
“I’ve got mixed feelings, in terms of the performance. It was a game of two halves - first half was not at our level, second half was but without the real end product. That’s what we really should have been saying about it, that we played well, but we’ve got to look to score more goals with the good play.”
The Reds head to Valencia next Friday for their final friendly of the World Cup break. Their first competitive game back is a Carabao Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers on December 21, followed by a trip to face Manchester United in the league six days later.
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