Joe Lolley has explained why he thinks Steve Cooper didn’t see him as part of his Nottingham Forest squad following promotion to the Premier League.
The Sydney FC forward sat down with The Athletic last week. He discussed a number of things and Lolley thinks he knows why Cooper didn’t want him.
Last season proved a difficult one for Lolley. He was often used as a substitute during the promotion-winning campaign and struggled for starts.
The 30-year-old proved a good servant for the Reds though. He made 171 appearances, scoring 26 goals and claiming 27 assists.
Lolley will have been gutted not to have earned a shot at the Premier League. Now, he’s opened up on why he thinks Cooper perhaps wasn’t willing to give him a shot.
He told The Athletic: “I think sometimes Steve Cooper took my attitude as me not caring.
“No, not caring is not quite the right phrase… I think he saw me as somebody who was not driven.
“But anyone who knows me will know that I love to compete, to win — and how much I care about my team doing well.”
Lolley explained why Cooper didn’t see him as part of his Forest squad
This is an interesting theory from Lolley and perhaps there is some method within his madness.
Perhaps Cooper wanted to see more from Lolley last season as he spent a lot of time on the fringes of the first team.
Sadly for Lolley the system that Cooper often deployed in the Championship simply didn’t suit the forward.
During his time at Sydney FC, he’s been utilised in his more natural role as a winger and he’s started to thrive again scoring five goals.
It would have been a huge ask for Lolley to produce the goods in the Premier League and perhaps all parties have done well out of this situation.