Notts County boss Luke Williams has lauded Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper after seeing his team beaten 1-0 by the Reds on Saturday. Hwang Ui-jo scored the game’s only goal but in fairness, there wasn’t a deal in the game.
The Magpies won promotion to League Two last season. They endured a rollercoaster of emotions at the end of the season, scoring a couple of late goals to keep their promotion dreams alive.
Forest ensured that they remained in the Premier League for another season. Cooper was tasked with the impossible given the transfer window of 2022 but he defied the odds.
Now, ambitions are high once again for both Nottingham-based clubs. Forest will want to continue stabilising as a top-flight outfit; whilst Notts will eye a second successive promotion.
Williams has now lauded Cooper following his team’s defeat. After the game, he was seemingly happy to have a chat with the Forest head coach who delivered some brilliant advice.
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The Magpies’ boss told BBC: “He’s total class, isn’t he, he came and spent some with me before the game this time last year and that helped me hugely, it really did.
“I’ve had some time with him again – he’s a Premier League manager, you don’t get that opportunity very often – and we’ve tried to encourage him to have a chat again with his staff and my staff.
“It’s brilliant to be able to share the technical area with him.”
Notts County boss Williams praises Forest head coach Cooper
It’s good to see the two clubs building a rapport with each other. Forest should work out some sort of relationship with County that allows the club to send youngsters to Meadow Lane on loan.
Ryan Yates benefited from moving across the River Trent earlier in his career. As a result, it perhaps makes a lot of sense, certainly from a Forest perspective.
It’s no surprise to see Cooper being as down to earth as ever with one of his counterparts. He always comes across as a brilliant man and ultimately his stock couldn’t be higher at Forest.
The 43-year-old will hope his team can kick on next season. It wasn’t the best of starts to pre-season, despite the win, and the boss will hope to see some new arrivals in the coming weeks.