Nottingham Forest legend Stuart Pearce fears his former club will struggle to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester United made it 10 games without a win for Steve Cooper’s side. They are 18th in the table with seven matches remaining, albeit only goal difference separates them from Everton immediately above them.
The Reds have lacked firepower for much of the campaign and failed to register a single effort on target against United. Pearce is pleased Cooper has been backed by the Forest hierarchy amid his position coming under scrutiny, but believes a shortage of goals will prove costly.
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“He (Cooper) has been the only stable individual in the whole scenario this season,” the former Reds defender and manager told talkSPORT. “As luck happens, they backed him and kept him and I think there’s a general love for him around the ground with the fans – which is good to see.
“But I am looking, I think it’s probably three from five now at the bottom of the table (to go down). I think that is the case without a doubt, and I am looking at Forest’s games between now and the end of the season - really, really tough.
“Liverpool away, Brighton at home, Brentford away, Chelsea they have got to play, they have got Arsenal to play. Probably the only two shining beacons where you think they might get points potentially are Southampton at home and Palace away but Palace are flying at the moment.
“It’s pure talent, they are struggling to score goals. I am looking at the goals scored tally, 24 goals they have scored this year. I think it’s only Southampton and Everton that have scored 24 – the equal lowest and for all intents and purposes those might be the three that end up going down. They normally say the goals you score equate to the points you get, and it’s not far off it if you look through the league table at the end of the season.
“If you are a manager at a club, you go into certain clubs, you have got back-up around you, outside yourself and your coaching staff and your group of players. If you have got back-up around you it’s brilliant, it’s a bonus. If you haven’t, you circle the wagons at the training ground and say ‘We will get on with it and the periphery around us is no help at all’.
“I have worked at clubs where I have had great help around me at board level and I have also worked at clubs and thought ‘Jesus wept, these idiots around me don’t know anything about football and they are no help to me whatsoever so I just have to rely on myself’.”
Asked if he feels Forest will go down, Pearce said: “Yes, I am. Since about a week ago I have felt it’s been about three from five teams. Out of those three I would say Forest, second favourites behind Southampton to go, as I see it today.”
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