Nottingham Forest’s battle for Premier League survival can sometimes have the feel of climbing a metaphorical mountain.
And plenty of pundits might well have assumed the Reds needed to hike up a real one for team bonding purposes as head coach Steve Cooper got a new-look group to gel. Either that or the age-old paintballing sessions.
But such gimmicks haven’t been required under Cooper’s watch. The players enjoy team meals, coffee meet-ups and trips such as going to watch the boxing together - being at the Motorpoint Arena last weekend to support Forest fan Leigh Wood.
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The sense of unity which has developed at the City Ground this season has been about more than that, though. Just as he did last term, Cooper has created what he describes as a “culture”; it is a sense of togetherness which has been the cornerstone of the forward strides his side have made back in the top-flight.
“You don’t build a culture by climbing a mountain together or building a raft to cross the Channel,” said Cooper ahead of Saturday’s trip to face West Ham United. “You build a culture by spending time with each other every single day; challenging each other and supporting each other every single day, so every single day you are stronger than when you started the day. I’m a massive, massive believer in that.”
That team spirit doesn’t simply apply to the players. Cooper continues to ensure that every member of staff at the club is playing their part.
“It’s about everybody contributing,” he continued. “Whether it be player, coach, staff, kitchen staff, administrational staff, media staff… everyone needs to feel their self-worth and that they’re important and that they belong to the club. That’s really important.
“For me then, it's just about consistencies; that regardless of the result at a weekend, and regardless of highs and lows - particularly lows - you still show the same level of communication, belief and support to everyone. That’s how you build relationships and bonds. It takes real highs and real lows to really build togetherness.
“It’s a typical Premier League situation, in that we’re such a diverse group in terms of where players come from and countries and experiences and age. To see how they are committing to what we want to do is good, but we know it has to be that way for us to succeed.
“Staff are equally important as well. It’s about consistency for me.”
The Reds boss has always candidly discussed the challenges involved this season; of adapting to the top-flight and, not least, those which came with last summer’s squad overhaul. Now, six months down the line, the bonds which have been forged are clear.
You need only look at the touchline during home games to see that. Those players not available through injury (and there continues to be a long list) are regularly watching on.
Dean Henderson and Taiwo Awoniyi could be seen bobbing their heads in tune to the crowd’s rendition of “Forest are magic” against Manchester City last time out. And Jesse Lingard has regularly been at the heart of the celebrations when not involved, racing on to the pitch at full-time and then leading the dancing in the dressing room afterwards.
“There’s a couple of things that are good signs, things like spending time together - both in and around the training ground and then away from the training ground as well,” Cooper explained. “The training with the players the day after games, which is with the players who haven’t played the day before, has been at such a high level and a competitive level - and for me, that is always a positive sign, because it means everyone is motivated and has bought into what we’re doing.
“Sometimes those sessions, when things aren’t going so well, can be quite difficult, but they’ve been really enjoyable and productive sessions. That’s a good sign for me.
“The other thing I would say is, not that I have loads of experience, but the experience I’ve had when teams have been successful, even with England, is that a lot of it has been built on a great togetherness and a great teamsmanship. Hopefully we can look back and succeed and go, ‘yeah, that’s what we had here’.
“We certainly had it last year. I’ve been lucky enough to experience togetherness, and I feel we have it here. But we have to prove we can use it in the right way.”
It all points to the Reds being in a very different place to when they faced the Hammers earlier in the season. Awoniyi bagged the only goal of the game in August, to secure a landmark first win of the campaign, but things got a little bumpy shortly after that.
Forest came through a tough spell. They make the trip to the London Stadium five points clear of the drop zone and their opponents, who are 18th in the table. Cooper still wants more, though.
“I would say, yes, just because of time,” he said, when asked if the Reds are a different team to when they last faced the Hammers. “That was the first home game and second game of the season. We’re six months down the line now. Something would be really wrong if we weren’t a different team now - and particularly with how it was in the summer.
“But they are a good team, they’ve got loads of good players and a manager who has seen it all and been really successful. We’re under no illusions that we’ve got to go there and be at our very best.
“I know how much we’ve still got to grow and how much we have got to do. Are we different to what we were then? Yeah, but we should be.
“Are we where we want to be? No, nowhere near it. This is just the next challenge and the next game to try to make a forward step.
“We’ve got a long way to go. A long way to go, in terms of how we play, league position, away form, in terms of everything around the team. We’re very much on that journey.
“On a daily basis there is room for improvement. We are on that journey of improving, because we’ve got so much to do and so many of us going through the Premier League for the first time.
“We’re enjoying our work and enjoying each other. It’s tough, but it’s motivating. We have to keep going.”
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