'The voice in my head worries,' says Marples. Just as Cooper himself is steadfast in his refusal to discuss progress as if it is a fait accompli, aware that the job is not even close to being done, there is that fear among the fans that this could be as good as it gets. I am just really focused and motivated right now on not letting anybody down.' When you are part of something like that, you just want to give your best, really. 'A home game here at the City Ground has this real sense of belonging. It is always a feeling of pride when you see that a home game at the City Ground becomes this real gathering of the Nottingham Forest community. 'But the atmosphere has been great, both home and away, from our supporters. If you start thinking outside of that, you are not doing your job. I am a bit paranoid about making sure we are in the best shape going forward, I am focused about putting one game to bed and moving on to the next one. When pressed, he is aware of the excitement.

For him, time away from the training ground means watching the midweek Champions League action rather than basking in the adulation of supporters around Nottingham. Fully in.'Д¬ooper is determinedly in his bubble. Some of which sounds a bit cheesy, but we are all in - absolutely every single one of us. A cafГ© just off Trent Bridge sets off fireworks after each home win and Cooper has his own post-win fist pump ritual. 'The Forza Garibaldi tifos are more numerous. But after two decades of 'generally uneventful' times for the club, the spark is back. One of his first games was a famous UEFA Cup tie against Celtic at the City Ground. Marples is of a generation that grew up with tales of European glory. Enjoy it but improve.ДЄsked by one journalist whether he has thought about Forest's previous play-off disappointments - they lost out twice under Billy Davies and twice more prior to that - Cooper says the only past he is interested in are those European Cup wins. Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Nottingham Forest and Coventry City If that is dribbling then great because we have some good ball carriers.' 'We want to get our dribblers in dangerous position, getting players up the pitch to attack in a variety of ways. No team in the Championship has completed more dribbles since he took over.

It is a bit different, of course, but those principles remain.' All we are really trying to do now is to do it at a more senior level. 'You want them to be free, to be creative, to express themselves, to play with team-mates, all these sorts of things. I have been coaching professionally for 20 years now and most of that has been in youth development where you are drumming that into young players that they need to take the ball in difficult positions when they are under pressure. If you show belief in people, they can surprise you. It gives you the best chance in rocky moments and allows you to enjoy the good moments.' You start as you mean to go on and that means belief in people, positive attitudes. 'You can only judge what you see yourself. Were the players not at rock bottom when he joined, though? We just try to embrace the situation that we are in, playing for this huge, iconic football club and doing the best we can.' When you do that you give yourself the best chance. 'We just try to be positive,' adds Cooper. But you cannot be confident without winning. Player after player talks of confidence restored. 'He has brought the very best out of and improved every single player,' says Marples. It is the process for every game.'Д«ut that question of how remains. It is what has taken his Forest this far. Image: Nottingham Forest's City Ground has become a fortress once againД¬ooper himself is reluctant to look too far forwards or too far back.

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