Former Nottingham Forest defender Michael Dawson has heaped praise on manager Steve Cooper for the job he has done at the club as the team celebrate Premier League safety.
A 1-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday afternoon, coupled with Everton’s 1-1 draw with Wolves means that Forest have secured their place in the league with one game of the season left to play.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s first half goal was enough to separate the two sides. Despite only having 18 percent of the ball, Forest were never really troubled by Arsenal, with their performance praised by Dawson.
“They’ve been absolutely magnificent tonight and they had to work,” he said on Sky Sports after the game. “Arsenal came here, had all the possession, but what Nottingham Forest did is they had a resilience, a hunger, a desire, to keep that ball out of the back of the net.
READ MORE: ‘Joy and love’ - National media reports on Nottingham Forest’s win vs Arsenal to secure safety
READ MORE: 'Nobody can say no' - Nottingham Forest's players react after Premier League safety secured
“February they beat Leeds here, eleven games they didn’t win a football match. Did everyone give them a chance? Not really, but that was the turning point to keep the dream alive and here in the Premier League. From where they were with Steve Cooper 12 months ago to where they are now - incredible. What a job.”
He continued his praise for Cooper, who has led the club from the bottom of the Championship to a second season in the Premier League in just over 18 months in charge.
“Marinakis, the owner, there’ll have been times where you’re thinking what do you do? But that man in the picture [Steve Cooper] deserves so much credit for what he’s done since he walked through the door, bottom of the Championship, got them up the table to get them promotion and even this season it’s been hard,” Dawson added. “They lost five on the bounce earlier in the season and Aston Villa came here, it was an ugly game, they grinded out a one-one draw and they stuck with him. They’ve showed belief, they’ve got a togetherness, unbelievable.”
It wasn’t only Dawson who hailed Cooper for the job he has done at the City Ground. Former Arsenal defender Tony Adams also pointed out the achievements of the Welshman with the club.
He said: “This man [Cooper], he was my Manager of the Year last year - LMA - for me, he picked Forest out of the Championship, they were bottom of the Championship. He’s just taken them through and credit to the club, congratulations. It’s Nottingham Forest’s day, we will reflect the Arsenal with some technical bits they’ve done wrong today but it’s all come to a head - it’s Nottingham Forest’s day today.”
What do you think of the job Steve Cooper has done? Tell us in the comments section
READ NEXT:
- Match of the Day pundit names ‘the difference’ for Nottingham Forest as safety secured
- Evangelos Marinakis answers Steve Cooper question as he responds to Nottingham Forest survival
- Jamie Carragher raves about 'great' Nottingham Forest as he delivers survival verdict
- Brice Samba responds to Nottingham Forest survival after Arsenal win
- The latest Nottingham Forest news in one place
