Antonio Conte has heaped praise on Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper in his matchday programme notes (page 6). The Reds travelled to Tottenham and were on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline yesterday afternoon.
The Italian manager saw his team return to form after a drab few weeks of below-par performances. Harry Kane netted twice for Tottenham, with Son Heung-min also etching his name on the scoresheet.
Joe Worrall did reduce the deficit for Forest in North London. It was a performance that has been seen so many times on the road this season, however, and it’s frankly tiresome.
Conte has come up against Steve Cooper three times now this season. He has overseen two wins in the Premier League against Forest but saw his team knocked out of the Carabao Cup by the Reds.
Ahead of yesterday’s encounter, Cooper was praised by Conte. He also paid tribute to the boss for the way in which Forest played when they were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham in August.
He told the matchday programme (page 6): “Our league game earlier in the season showed us how dangerous Nottingham Forest can be. Although we won that day they pushed us all the way and proved what a tough opponent they are.
“Steve has done a good job there winning promotion and with their results this season – and we will have to be at our best today.”
Conte heaped praise on Cooper and then taught him a stern lesson
The former Chelsea manager has seen his position questioned at Tottenham of late. On Saturday, he sent his team out to blow Forest away and they duly obliged on home soil.
Cooper is arguably still learning at Premier League level. Something has to give away from home, however, and doing the same thing over and over again is getting the team nowhere.
Cooper is destined for a top job at some point during his managerial career. In the short term, however, he must be bold and brave to try doing something a little bit different.
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