Head coach Steve Cooper was delighted to “give something back” to Nottingham Forest fans as his team toppled East Midlands rivals Leicester City 2-0.
Before the game at the City Ground, Cooper showed his players a video of the support the Reds had received during the reverse fixture against the Foxes. Even on the end of a 4-0 thumping at the King Power Stadium, there had been constant backing from the away end.
Cooper had been on the verge of being sacked after that defeat. But rather than wield the axe, the club stuck by him and awarded him a new contract.
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There has been a significant improvement since then, with Forest having been beaten only three times in 11 league games. With three points against City - courtesy of Brennan Johnson’s brace - they are up to 13th in the table, and the contrast between the last time the sides met was stark.
“I showed a video to the boys before the game of our supporters at 4-0 down at the King Power,” said Cooper. “I said it’s important that we give a bit back on this particular fixture this week.
“That support meant a lot to me personally, because of the timing of that result and what happened in the week after. Not that I ever think about myself, but for me personally, to give that result back to the fans means a lot to me.
“A lot has happened between then and now, but for it being a local game, and what happened then and today, it is something that gives me a lot of joy.
“I’m always proud of this set of lads, but a local game - which is always important - but also league position and points meant there was a lot of context to it. We knew it could be a real positive if we won. It was great to get the win.
“They had the best chance of the first half (through Harvey Barnes), but I thought it was an even game. Second half, I thought we played really well. They had a good chance, but we’ve created more chances and managed to take them.
“I really liked us in the second half. We were really positive, showed good body language, wanted to take the game to Leicester and ended up becoming the much better team and breaking through, which is what we needed to do.”
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