Suggestions Patrick Vieira is in the running to replace Steve Cooper should he be sacked by Nottingham Forest are understood to be false.
Cooper is under pressure going into tonight’s crunch clash with Leeds United. But it is understood there is no truth in national media reports claiming Forest would consider former Crystal Palace boss Vieira as a potential replacement, should a change be made.
A run of seven games without a win has left the Reds in a precarious position. They sit one point above the relegation zone with 10 matches remaining - starting with this evening’s fixture at Elland Road.
READ MORE: Cooper names Forest team to face Leeds in crunch clash
READ MORE: Follow the action live from Elland Road
Ahead of the game, Cooper insisted his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis - who was in the City Ground stands on Saturday as the hosts surrendered a lead to draw 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers - remains normal. And he stressed his focus is on the task in hand on the pitch, rather than any talk about his future.
“I just do my job,” the Welshman said in his pre-match press conference, when asked whether this is not the time for anyone to panic. “There’s always sideshows running alongside what is the most important thing, and that is turning up every day and doing the job to the best of your ability.
“It’s not even turning up; you never switch off. Even when you go home, you’re thinking about work, because I’m completely obsessed with doing my best and trying to be at my best. In the end, you see how far that takes you, like every other manager and every other player.
“I don’t get too caught up in what might be or what might be said. It’s counterproductive, in my opinion, if you’re thinking about stuff like that because you’re not thinking about the team or the next training session or next game. If I’m not doing that, I’m not at my best and I don’t think I’m doing my job properly.
“I’ve had three or four years as a manager, which is enough experience for me to train myself just to focus on the importance of doing your job. That’s your every day work with the players and staff. Everything else outside of that is something I don’t pay much attention to.”
He added: “We know it’s a results industry and you have to do your best to win as many games as you can and pick up the right amount of points. We’re all in the same boat, whatever league we work in, we’re all committed to doing that.
“We’re all trying our best. We’re all trying to reach objectives set by the club and what we think we can do with the team, and we’re all giving it our best shot.”
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