Nottingham Forest defender Scott McKenna has praised first-team coach Steven Reid, suggesting that he’s an unsung hero within the camp.
Forest were promoted during 2021/22 after winning the Championship play-off final against Huddersfield. It ended a 23-year wait to return to the Premier League for the Reds.
McKenna was an instrumental figure for the Reds. He featured in every single league game and would be a strong contender for the Player of the Year accolade.
It would seem that inside the dressing room, Reid is a popular figure. He arrived when Chris Hughton took charge in October 2020.
When he departed in September 2021 it was anticipated that Reid would him out of the door. Cooper, however, had other ideas and decided to keep him on.
Now, McKenna has explained what he did in the build-up of the play-offs that helped keep the players calm – and it’s brilliant!
The Scotland star told Nottinghamshire Live: “Steven actually stole a couple of Steve Clarke’s quotes when we were having teammates heading into the play-off semi-final and final.
“That was actually one a lot of the lads bought into. It was: ‘Don’t play with fear of failure, play with the anticipation of success.’ That one was plastered all around the dressing room.
“I think having a strong bond and that sort of experience helped us get over the line.”
McKenna praises Reid and he’s a really talented coach
Already this summer, the former West Brom midfielder has been linked with a managerial position of his own. It was reported last month that AFC Wimbledon wanted to make him their manager, although he did miss out.
That would have been a big loss to Forest. He’s proving a very shrewd coach and clearly, behind the scenes, he’s far from sitting on his hands when it comes to getting involved.
Reid looks like a real motivator and even if they did come from the Scotland boss, it would appear his work had the desired effect on the players.
The 41-year-old looks like a coach to keep an eye on in the future. Right now, he’s looking like a very important member of Cooper’s coaching staff.