He might have taken a bit of stick afterwards, but Nottingham Forest defender Scott McKenna has been encouraged to make more rampages down the pitch.
The centre-back powered down the left flank against Bristol City at the weekend and linked up with Max Lowe to set up James Garner for the Reds’ second goal of a 2-0 win.
Head coach Steve Cooper is eager for his team to play with freedom and take responsibility for their own decisions on the pitch.
And he was delighted with McKenna’s contribution against the Robins - even if it did raise “a chuckle” in the changing room afterwards.
“When you play with wide centre-backs, it’s definitely something which can be on. That’s where the space is, in terms of creating a spare man in midfield,” Cooper said.
“I didn’t think he’d quite get to the byline and cut it back! But the fact he did it, great.
“There’s certainly no reins on these lads. If they feel that’s on, then go for it.
“We want the team to play in a certain way and do certain things, but I always say to them, it’s a decision-making game and you have to play what you see.
“Scott is a good footballer. He’s got a nice left foot. He can hit a range of passes.
“In that moment, he just kept going! If that’s what he thought was on at the time, then great, he made a good decision.
“There’s nothing stopping him from doing that again with me. In fact, we encourage it.
“It was good to see a goal from it, otherwise he would have had to get back! At least there was a stop in play when the ball was in the net!
“It tickled us a little bit when he ran off celebrating like he’d scored! It got a little chuckle in the dressing room, that.
“We’re very happy with Scott. He’s just got to continue what he’s been doing, and that starts with the attitude, the mentality and the focus. He knows those things need to remain for him to keep playing as well as he is - if not even better, which is always the aim.”
Cooper is keen to instil a certain style of play, but says it is important the team are able to make their own calls during games.
“It’s very important players have that freedom,” he continued.
“At the same time, without contradicting, I do want us to be a certain type of team. I do want to see certain things, whether it’s tactical, technical or physical.
“It’s not making things up as we go along, that’s the last thing it is. But within that idea of how we play, players have got to be good players and they’ve got to make decisions in our way.
“The moment you start taking decision-making away from players, for me is the moment we won’t be getting it right.
“That will always be the case with my thinking.”
