Head coach Steve Cooper has placed an emphasis on Nottingham Forest’s performance levels during the season’s run-in.
It comes with the belief that, more often than not, the right results will follow if the Reds play to the best of their ability; rather than scrapping to try to win points any way, any how - although they are having to dig in at times, too. It is a strategy which has seen Cooper’s side find some momentum at a good time.
Going into the final two games, they have their Premier League fate in their own hands after picking up seven points from their last four games. They sit three points above the drop zone and four clear of 19th-placed Leicester City.
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There is no doubt the next two fixtures are going to be very tough, though, and Forest will be well aware the job is far from done yet. With survival on the line, we take a look at the players Cooper knows he can rely on in this decisive period.
Ryan Yates
The kind of player and character who is made for situations such as this. You’d want the midfielder alongside you in the trenches when the going gets tough and when there’s so much on the line.
Yates always steps up. If anyone is capable of helping to drag the Reds over the line, it is him.
Cooper knows how important he is. And the influence he has in games was underlined by how much he was missed during spells on the sidelines.
He is vice-captain for a reason. Likewise, skipper Joe Worrall deserves a mention - he might not always be in the starting XI at the moment, but he is still playing a key role on and off the pitch.
Serge Aurier
For long spells of the season, he has been Mr Reliable as one of the team’s most consistent performers. When he has had a wobble, it is only noticeable because he has set such high standards.
What has also stood out in recent games, against Chelsea and Southampton, is the way he has gathered the troops when they have been on the back foot. He has kept a cool head and looked to rally his teammates. His level of experience can really come into its own at this stage.
Felipe
Cooper can certainly rely on the centre-back to put in top-level displays. He has been excellent since coming into the team after his January arrival, arguably deserving to be in the conversation for Forest’s player of the season.
The Brazilian has come to the rescue several times already. The Reds will no doubt need him to keep putting his body on the line. And if he can show the same kind of touch in front of goal as he did against Southampton (without getting on the wrong side of VAR), all the better.
Morgan Gibbs-White
He was Cooper’s top target last summer for a reason; it was because the Welshman knew Gibbs-White could be a difference-maker when it mattered. He’s always capable of producing a moment of magic and making something happen, even when not having the best of games.
The club record signing has been a regular starter all season. It’s unlikely that’s going to change now.
Brennan Johnson
Like Gibbs-White, the academy graduate is a young player Cooper rates very highly indeed. He has had to make way in away games at Liverpool and Chelsea of late as the manager tweaked formation, with Johnson’s attacking threat sacrificed to try to make the visitors tough to beat.
As such, it poses a big dilemma over whether to stick with what worked at Stamford Bridge when Arsenal visit the City Ground on Saturday. It would be no surprise if the Reds do revert to a four-man defence with Johnson back in the line-up, however. Forest would not be where they are now without his goals.
Who else should be on our list? Have your say in the comments below
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