Steve Cooper has praised Jonjo Shelvey for his performance as Nottingham Forest were battered by West Ham. The head coach has also explained his decision to substitute the midfielder.
Shelvey was withdrawn just after the hour. His presence was missed immensely by the Reds who suffered a capitulation that saw West Ham score four times in the final 20 minutes.
The experienced midfielder has proved a very useful signing for Forest. He has, however, had a less than impressive time of things on the injury front in recent seasons.
Shelvey was a hot topic of discussion among the Forest fans during yesterday’s defeat. After the game, Cooper was quizzed over his decision to substitute Shelvey during the clash.
He explained to Nottinghamshire Live: “I thought Jonjo was really good, but we knew he could only give us so much. He’s only just come back from a long period out. It was frustrating that we had to do that. But at the same time, we can’t risk him getting injured again.”
Shelvey signed for the Reds during the January transfer window. He departed Newcastle after seven years, with the player pleading with Eddie Howe to let him join Forest.
Cooper praised Shelvey and he’s explained his huge call
Withdrawing Shelvey wasn’t necessarily the problem as such. It was more the fact that in his place he was replaced by Andre Ayew meaning that Forest were forced into a change of shape.
Losing a midfielder meant that Declan Rice had more time to work his magic. He scored a sublime third goal for the Hammers and was extremely influential once Shelvey went off.
Cooper hasn’t done a deal wrong since being appointed as the Forest boss. Taking Shelvey off and not replacing him with another midfielder must go down as a manager error, however, and yesterday he learned a tough lesson.
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