Nottingham Forest are said to have withdrawn boss Steve Cooper’s offer of a new contract as owner Evangelos Marinakis ponders changes at the club.
The Greek businessman made clear after the Reds had achieved promotion that he wanted to tie the manager to fresh terms. Talks followed during the summer, with the framework of a new deal understood to have been broadly agreed.
Cooper has consistently underlined his commitment to Forest since then, despite not putting pen to paper. But his job is now under severe pressure as a result of a five-match losing streak which has left his side propping up the Premier League table.
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And according to the Daily Mail, the offer of a new contract for the Welshman “is no longer on the table”. He has 12 months left on the two-year deal he signed when he replaced Chris Hughton at the helm in September 2021.
It is understood there is still the possibility Cooper could be in charge for Monday night’s clash with Aston Villa at the City Ground. However, a number of names have already emerged as possible contenders for the role, should Marinakis wield the axe,
The head coach isn’t the only one who could be in the firing line in response to the Reds’ start to the campaign. The futures of chief executive Dane Murphy, head of data and analytic recruitment George Syrianos and head of scouting Andy Scott are all understood to be under threat.
Cooper said of his future after the 4-0 defeat to Leicester City: “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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