Steve Cooper has extended his Nottingham Forest contract through 2025. The owner, Evangelos Marinakis, unexpectedly extended Cooper’s contract, which was set to expire at the conclusion of this season following five straight losses. This is a big vote of confidence for the under-fire manager. Forest, who dropped to the bottom of the Premier League, are hoping Cooper can turn things around.
Following a humiliating 4-0 loss at rival and fellow struggling team Leicester on Monday, Forest seriously considered firing Cooper, with intermediaries scouting potential successors. After board meetings, however, Forest unanimously decided to support Cooper. Further changes behind the scenes have been suggested, and the club signed former Watford sporting director Filippo Giraldi to a similar position on Wednesday. However, for the time being, any significant reorganization has been postponed.
Cooper took over a team that was last in the Championship in September 2021 and led Forest to the top division after a 23-year absence. After winning the playoffs, Forest spent more than £150 million on 23 players, including high-profile transfers for Jesse Lingard and Morgan Gibbs-White. However, the team has struggled to gel, and Cooper has admitted that his team is still gaining experience.
“It is now crucial that our attention is completely on football,” said a Forest statement on Friday. We are all focused as a team, and we’ll do everything in our power to help the squad climb the league standings and once again show why we were selected for the Premier League.
On Monday, Forest will host Aston Villa. Southampton, whose manager Ralph Hasenhüttl is under considerable pressure following 14 losses in his last 20 league games, had expressed interest in Cooper. He stated on Friday, “How much I love it here and want to be here, that has never been in question.” If there is a discussion over that, it may end. It does not imply that we will triumph in our upcoming game, and everything will be well. The questioning has ended, which is wonderful.
