Steve Cooper insists he is not concerned about the prospect of any of his talented Nottingham Forest youngsters being poached this month.
But he does want to add to the three signings the Reds have made so far in the window.
In front of the TV cameras, Forest put in a sterling performance to dump Premier League Arsenal out of the FA Cup on Sunday, courtesy of Lewis Grabban’s goal.
The likes of academy graduates Brennan Johnson and Joe Worrall already have their admirers, and some fine individual displays against the Gunners are bound to have caught a few eyes.
That is not something which worries Cooper, though.
“I’m not thinking too much like that,” he said after his team’s 1-0 win at the City Ground.
“You only have to see how engaged the players are on a daily basis and how much they want to play well here. They want to improve every single day.
“To have the culture that we want, if people are thinking about being somewhere else then they won’t be for me anyway.
“But I don’t sense that off anybody, not just the young players - there are quite a few lads who are performing particularly well at the moment.
“I’m not that worried about it, not in any way, shape or form.”
After a memorable victory for their first outing of 2022, the Reds’ attention now turns back to the league as they target a promotion push in the second half of the season.
Prior to seeing off Arsenal, they had lost two Championship matches on the trot - a run they will be out to put right at Millwall this weekend.
They have been quick off the mark in the transfer window, bolstering the squad with three additions so far to help with their charge up the table.
Aston Villa loanee Keinan Davis and former Bournemouth defender Steve Cook made their debuts in the third round tie, just a few days after putting pen to paper, while full-back Richie Laryea watched from the stands.
“We’re trying to be really strategic with the players we’re bringing in - and we want more to come in,” Cooper said.
“I thought Keinan looked a really good threat. He started the game well and I could see the fans took to him straight away. I was pleased about that.
“Cookie showed exactly why we want him here - the experience, the calmness on the ball, good defender and you can hear him talking.
“It’s only a start. They’ve got to play well next week. We’ve all got to play well against Millwall.
“But I was really pleased with them.”
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