Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has commended Steve Cooper for the work he has done at Nottingham Forest.
The two face off at the City Ground on Friday evening, with Forest looking for what would be a huge three points in their battle against relegation, while Newcastle will arrive aiming to maintain their challenge for Champions League football.
Whatever happens on the night won’t change the high regard in which Howe holds Cooper after the former Swansea man lifted Forest out of the Championship relegation spots, into the play-offs, back to the top tier and has them currently out of the bottom three by four places.
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He has done that while having to integrate 29 new signings across two transfer windows and come up with a team to maximise Forest’s chances of staying up.
Howe, who is enjoying his own credit-worthy campaign, has been impressed. “It can’t be underestimated how difficult that is [getting a new squad to gel],” Howe said. “I know from my own experiences, to manage a large group of players, especially when you have players who aren’t playing or involved in the match-day squad, to keep that harmonious is very difficult.
“I think he deserves huge credit for the job he’s done. Firstly, to get his team promoted from a very difficult position, then stabilising in the Premier League. I think their performances have just got better and better, so we know it’s going to be a very difficult game for us.”
Newcastle will expect to find their former midfielder Jonjo Shelvey lined up against them tomorrow, however Chris Wood’s loan conditions mean he can’t play against his parent club. Forest are sweating on the fitness of Brennan Johnson who tweaked his groin last time out.
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