Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper insists he’s not thinking about his future amid talk Rafael Benitez is a contender for his job.
Cooper’s men had a night to forget as they East Midlands rivals Leicester suffered a 4-0 defeatForest falls to the bottom in the Premier League with this result.
talkSPORT understands that Forest are contemplating parting company with Cooper, who’s fearing for his job with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis notoriously ruthless with hiring and firing managers.
Soon after the match, the Daily TelegraphReports indicate that Benitez, a former boss of Newcastle, Chelsea, and Liverpool, is interested in the job. Benitez is known to be close to Lee Charnley (the former chief executive of Newcastle) who currently serves as an advisor at Forest.
But Cooper, who took Forest from bottom of the Championship to the Premier League in seven months, didn’t want to get dragged into the speculation.
He told talkSPORT after the match: “In terms of my personal situation I’m not standing here after a game thinking about myself I’m more disappointed that this club that means a lot to me has lost another football match. That’s where my concerns are.
“I don’t want to be thinking about my situation, I want to be thinking about the football club because that’s more important than anything.”
Cooper, Forest’s head coach at the time, was just over a decade old when Cooper left. The Championship was at their feet at the time.
Forest received promotion via the Championship play offs to the Premier League thanks to his work at the City Ground.
Cooper received a lot of support from Marinakis, who brought in 22 new players during the transfer window.
However, former Forest striker Dean Saunders suggests that recruits could be part of Cooper’s problem.
“I can’t say a Forest team because they’re not a team and that’s the problem at the moment,” Saunders said on The Sports Bar.
“Steve Cooper’s done a magnificent job getting them promoted.
“The club’s messed it up again. I’m sorry to say after the event but signing 22 players, and you can say all you want with how many players you’ve lost, has Steve Cooper signed those 22 players? I’m telling you now he hasn’t. Not a chance.”
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