Nottingham Forest was rewarded for its religion in Steve Cooper, guaranteeing its survival within the Premier League with an exhilarating 1-0 victory over Arsenal on Saturday in its penultimate recreation of a roller-coaster season.
“This was always going to be my toughest coaching challenge, but a really enjoyable one, not a negative one,” Cooper stated.
Asked what feelings he was feeling, a smiling Cooper informed the BBC: “All of them and a million other things as well”.
The victory put Sixteenth-placed Forest six factors away from the relegation zone with 37. It has one recreation remaining, in opposition to Crystal Palace on May 28, to cap a outstanding first season again within the high flight in 23 years.
“Really proud of the club, supporters and players and really proud of that performance,” Cooper stated. “We limited them to very little, incredible desire and we got over the line. It was everything we wished for from today. It is what the players and the supporters particularly deserve.”
The 43-year-old supervisor took Forest, two-time European champions, from close to the underside of the Championship final season to earn promotion to the highest flight, the place it bought extra gamers than some other membership in Premier League historical past. It used 33 gamers within the league this season, the many of the 20 golf equipment.
“I knew coming into the season we would experience everything: wins, losses, good runs and poor runs,” Cooper stated. “I knew we had to be consistent. It was really difficult for the players, a new group put together and to have the spirit we have tells you the characters we have in that dressing room.”
And whereas different groups close to the underside of the desk sacked their managers this season, Forest saved its religion in Cooper, with proprietor Evangelos Marinakis publicly backing the coach in April regardless of a poor run of outcomes.
“(I feel) pride,” the supervisor informed a press convention. “Great sense of belonging. Being part of something really special, really important to me. It was just a brilliant day for the players, for the supporters, one that we deserved.
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“It’s just amazing to be able to continue to allow the club to move forward.”
Saturday’s recreation was simply as pivotal for Arsenal who noticed its hopes of a Premier League title formally extinguished.
“I can’t believe we kept a clean sheet,” Cooper stated.
“Players have been consistent win, lose or draw,” he added. “They’re a really together group that you saw today on the pitch. It was always going to be a game where they had the ball and we had to defend. My overriding feeling now is: Let’s get to work. We can take this to the next step.”
