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Nuno pays warm Steve Cooper tribute ahead of Nottingham Forest reunion

Steve Cooper during his time in charge of Nottingham Forest
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


Nuno Espirito Santo is determined to build on the “amazing job” done by former head coach Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest.

Cooper ended the Reds’ long absence from the top-flight when he led the club to promotion in 2022. He secured Premier League survival the following season but was sacked last December amid a disappointing start to the campaign.

Nuno was the man to replace the Welshman at the helm and currently has Forest sitting eighth in the table. Cooper is now in charge of Leicester City, and Friday night will see him come up against his former club for the first time as the teams meet at the King Power Stadium (8pm kick-off).

“Today it is normal that managers manage a team then go to another one and face their old club, so that’s not the point,” Nuno said. “The point is Steve did an amazing job here at Forest and will always be remembered by the club and the fans. He achieved something amazing that put us in the Premier League and we are trying to follow this amazing work of Steve.

"I don't think there is any extra motivation facing former clubs. We are professionals. I don't see it that way.”

Forest are determined to kick on this term. After successive relegation fights, the hope is they will be looking upwards rather than over the shoulders. However, Nuno has emphasised there is still a long road ahead.

“It is not about the table, it is about the performances - that is what really matters,” he said. “The table is not important at all in this situation. What we want is to go to Leicester and compete in the same way we did here at home and previously against Chelsea, because the games are always very hard and demand a lot from us.

“Our bar is high, so we want to keep going. But what guides us is not the table.”

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