Head coach Steve Cooper says he always believed Nottingham Forest would avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Reds secured survival with a game to spare as they beat Arsenal 1-0 at the City Ground on Saturday. It means they avoid a nervy final day trip to Crystal Palace and can start planning for another campaign in the top-flight.
Cooper has made no secret of how tough the challenge has been. Staying up is a test for any newly-promoted side, never mind one which had been out of the division for more than two decades, had to cope with a significant injury list and made 29 signings over the course of two transfer windows.
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Forest have also gone through some poor spells, with the manager’s job twice coming under scrutiny. But they have found form when it mattered. After an 11-match winless run, 10 points from five games has seen them over the line.
“When did I believe? If I ever lacked belief or confidence, then there’s no way the players and staff would have belief and confidence. So never once did I lack that,” Cooper said.
“At times, it was difficult. At times it was pure Premier League harshness. We had two-and-a-half months without winning a game, and yet we’ve always been more than in the mix.
“It’s my fourth year at first-team football. I knew this year I was going to have to experience losing more than I would like, and I had to get my head around that in the summer. I set myself some conditions of being the best manager you can be after a loss.
“I’ve got a long way to go before being a proper manager, and to do that you have got to be able to deal with everything. I didn’t want it, but I knew it was probably going to come this year, so I said to myself, if you’re really serious about managing this football club then you’ve got to show you can do it in difficult moments as well. That’s what the football club deserves. I hope I’ve done my best to show that.
“We knew it was going to be a unique season with how quick the Premier League came after getting promoted, and having had 20-odd years in the Championship. And the amount of signings. It was never going to be perfect.
"In 20-plus years of professional coaching, this was always going to be my toughest coaching challenge. But a really enjoyable one, not a negative one.
“It’s been really difficult for the players as well. We have had everything this year, in terms of results, performances and runs, positive and negative, but every day the players have come in with exactly the same mindset. They have been very level and very consistent, and that has been a massive factor in being a real together group - you saw that on the pitch.”
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