Simon Jordan doesn’t think that Steve Cooper should be immune from any blame for the current run that Nottingham Forest are on. The Reds lost 2-0 to Manchester United at the weekend to make it 10 Premier League matches without a victory.
The Reds are now inside the relegation zone on goal difference. They’re facing a real fight to stay in the division and have a tough run of fixtures to complete their campaign with.
Forest go to Liverpool on Saturday to try and arrest their alarming slide down the division. Jurgen Klopp’s team won 6-1 last night against Leeds and getting anything at Anfield will be a thankless task.
The Reds sacked Filippo Giraldi last week. They replaced him with Rangers figure Ross Wilson and some have suggested that the upheaval has had an impact on the team’s form on the pitch.
Jordan isn’t having that though. He believes that Cooper has to take his fair share of the blame for some horrendous form.
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He said live on TalkSPORT: “I’m not suggesting Steve Cooper should be fired but their away form has been feeble. Ultimately, you are going to come up against teams at the business end of the season that have either got titles to go for or are going to fight just as hard as you.
“They’re in the bottom three on merit. Chief executives being marginalised, and directors of football are nothing to do with Steve Cooper and the team on the pitch.
“Nothing to do with it at all. It’s an excuse if it’s used that way. It doesn’t affect the players, it doesn’t affect the manager. If they want to allow it to affect them then that will be up to them but it’s an excuse.”
Jordan says Forest boss Cooper isn’t immune from criticism
The head coach has to carry the can for some of the current form. He’s the one training the players each week and he’s the one picking the team and making the in-game decisions.
Frankly, those haven’t been good enough a lot of the time. Cooper worked wonders last season but there is a notion among some supporters that the head coach has struggled to adapt a little bit.
The off-field stuff shouldn’t be impacting anything on the pitch. The team are in a fight for their lives and if they can’t get up for the remaining games then frankly they shouldn’t be at the club.
Cooper now has a real fight on his hands. He has to get his team to roll their sleeves up and fight for the cause; with Premier League survival hinging on it.