Nottingham Forest appoint Steve Cooper as head coach

By Callum Castel-Nuovo

It has been five days since Chris Hughton was officially sacked by Nottingham Forest after 1 point from an available 21 at the start of the 2021/22 Championship season. There was a sense of inevitability around the decision after Hughton completed his 14th game without a win as the Nottingham Forest manager, with the decision being made after a 2-0 loss at home to Middlesbrough.

Since Hughton's dismissal, fans have discussed names such as Chris Wilder, John Terry, Steve Cooper, Eddie Howe and more. However, Daniel Taylor of the Athletic made it clear instantly that Nottingham Forest would not pursue Chris Wilder or John Terry. The first name that local journalists emerged with was Steve Cooper as Forest's first choice coach and today that has been confirmed.

As Nottingham Forest CEO Dane Murphy's first managerial appointment, Steve Cooper comes with a credible CV within the Championship and with the youngsters of the England international setup.

Steve Cooper started his managerial career as Liverpool's under-18s coach, overlooking the development of the likes of Raheem Sterling and Trent Alexander-Arnold. In 2014, the 41-year-old was appointed the manager of the England national under-16 team before taking charge of the under-17s. During his time as England under-17s coach, Cooper led his team to the final of the 2017 UEFA European U17 Championship and won the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup. Cooper coached the likes of Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Marc Guehi and Emile Smith-Rowe during his time at England.

Steve Cooper was then appointed head coach of Swansea City in 2019 where he led the team to their best start of a season for 41 years and pushed Swansea into the Championship play-offs on the last day of the season. Swansea subsequently lost to Brentford during the play-off semi-finals but Cooper continued his role at Swansea for the following season.

During his second season at Swansea, Steve Cooper guided the team to a comfortable play-off position after finishing 4th in the league. Cooper's team were successful during the semi-final triumph against Barnsley but would again lose out to Brentford during the 2020/21 Championship play-off final.

Dane Murphy stated: "Steve was our first choice as head coach - we are delighted to have secured his services. His record of developing young talent is exceptional.

"Steve knows what is required to be successful in the Championship and has a proven track record with Swansea.

"We have reduced the age of our squad over the summer and Steve is the ideal coach to blend a team to start moving us up the table.

"On behalf of the owner and the Board, we welcome Steve to the club and look forward to providing every support he needs to be a success at Nottingham Forest".

With youth players such as Alex Mighten and Brennan Johnson taking the step up to the senior squad, Dane Murphy sees Steve Cooper's blend of youth and Championship success as the perfect recipe to see Nottingham Forest reach the promotion places.

The new head coach has taken his first training session with the squad and will be in charge of his first game against Millwall this Saturday, hoping to build on the 2-0 win that Steven Reid guided the reds to against Huddersfield.