Southampton remain long-term admirers of Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper, according to the Daily Mail. Fear not, however, the Reds won’t be entertaining any request from their Premier League rivals to speak with the Welshman.
Cooper has been with Forest since September 2021. He replaced Chris Hughton at the City Ground and last season, he led the team to the play-offs where they won promotion to the Premier League.
The head coach has now started coming to terms with life in the Premier League. A tricky start saw his future as the club’s manager threatened but Evangelos Marinakis rewarded him with a new three-year contract.
Although the latest report, says that the Saints hold a long-standing interest in Cooper, it’s not quite so damaging for Forest. His new contract gives them some insurance and an official approach won’t be on the horizon.
The Reds will hope that Cooper is at the City Ground for many years to come. He’s restored pride back to the football club, with the fans unanimous in their support for him.
It wouldn’t appear that Cooper is itching to leave the club either. He often speaks openly about his desire to stay on the project with Forest and is clearly proud to work for the Reds.
Southampton might be Cooper admirers but there’s no chance they will land him
Stay in your lane Southampton! It’s hard to imagine Cooper swapping Nottingham for Southampton with the Saints in such a perilous position at the foot of the Premier League.
The club likely needs to appoint a firefighter at this stage. Their squad looks short of the required quality to survive relegation and it will be a thankless task for whoever gets the nod.
That man won’t be Cooper. He’s embarking on a mission at the Reds and naturally, they will hope to see Premier League survival through together between now and May.
Jesse Marsch and Ivan Juric are also under consideration for the Southampton job. Right now, those two look far more realistic than Cooper who won’t be leaving Forest any time soon.