As he walked over to perform the customary victory fist-pumps, Steve Cooper tapped his heart, cupped his ear and gestured with his hands for Nottingham Forest fans to crank up the volume.
He knew what it meant to them. And it clearly meant a lot to him, too. Not simply the win itself - although it was undoubtedly a crucial one - but more what it represented.
This wasn’t about revenge for that 4-0 thumping at the King Power Stadium, it was about a purer emotion than that. Cooper saw it as giving something back, as almost a thank you.
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A thank you for the unwavering support and for sticking by him when things were tough; really tough. He knew how much defeat in the reverse fixture against Leicester City would have hurt and what it almost meant for his position.
The away end on that miserable night in October kept up the noise right until the final whistle, even as Forest slipped to a fifth loss on the spin. And they never stopped singing the manager’s name. Don’t underestimate the part that played in the club’s decision to stand by him. Cooper clearly doesn’t.
He didn’t just oversee an important win at the City Ground on Saturday. He oversaw a good performance; in fact, an excellent one in the second half - one which merited the extra fist-pump he threw in. And he oversaw another marker indicating how much this team has progressed.
Not that he wants them to stop now, and not that he would want any reflections to be solely about him. But contrasting the two games against the Foxes shows what an incredible job he has already done - with the potential for more to come. All he and they needed was time.
Moving up
In his post-match press conference, it was mentioned to Cooper that Forest have now gone eight unbeaten at home. It was also pointed out that this time last year, the club sat ninth in the division below. You could add to that, that by that point the Reds had climbed from bottom of the Championship, and, equally, were bottom of the Premier League not so long ago - now they are up to 13th.
In response to both questions, though, the Welshman was keen to stress that such talk makes it sound as though his team have got to where they want to be. He knows the reality is there is still a long way to go.
But the table definitely looks a lot better than it did. A five-point gap to the drop zone now. It’s perhaps not quite breathing space, but it illustrates the positive strides Forest continue to make. They are building momentum, particularly at home. The City Ground is going to be crucial to their survival mission.
As part of their preparation for games, Cooper likes to talk to his players about the context surrounding individual matches. For this one, he showed a video of the fans getting behind the team when they were being pummelled by the same opponents. He wanted the squad to understand what it would mean to get three points.
“I said it’s important that we give a bit back on this particular fixture this week," he said. “That support meant a lot to me personally, because of the timing of that result and what happened in the week after. Not that I ever think about myself, but for me personally, to give that result back to the fans means a lot to me."
He described the support he had received at the King Power Stadium as "a defining moment" for him. Come the end of the season, both games against City could prove to be defining moments for Forest.
Dynamic duo
Connections are beginning to form all over the pitch now there has been consistency in team selection and the players have had time to gel. The visitors couldn’t cope with the one between Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson.
Those two have an immense amount of potential, individually and as a pair. When they get going, they are a real handful for opposition defences - as they demonstrated with the two goals.
There was a lovely through-ball from Gibbs-White for the first, with his teammate showing great composure to round Danny Ward and then roll the ball home. He had to wait to celebrate - first being flagged offside, before VAR overruled the decision - but it was worth it. The crowd knew what was coming when Cooper started shaking his fists before the referee had officially given the goal, with VAR having already indicated their call.
The second was sensational. It stemmed from an overhead clearance kick from Gibbs-White, after a City attack had been broken up. Sam Surridge then got involved, before Gibbs-White used his strength to shrug off his marker, turned, powered forward and played a delightful ball to Johnson, who finished with aplomb. Superb.
That’s the kind of football Cooper wants to see. When they are in that kind of form, Forest are a joy to watch. And now the likes of Gibbs-White and Johnson have settled into the top-flight, you wouldn’t bet against them showing more of it.
The Reds could still do with attacking reinforcements this month. But they don’t half have some talented players already in the squad who are beginning to show what they can do.
Team performance
In addition to Gibbs-White and Johnson, Renan Lodi and Serge Aurier were outstanding at the City Ground. Lodi has to be among the most improved players in the squad, while Aurier is simply consistently excellent. The latter always shows such passion, too, he high-fived some of the nearby fans after Johnson’s second.
You could argue a case for almost anyone in the side when it came to picking a man of the match, however. The substitutes made a difference, too, not least Surridge and Jack Colback, who has been terrific whenever called upon.
It’s been like it for a while now, even when results or performances haven’t quite gone the right way, but the Reds look like a proper team. They are playing as a unit.
Defensively, they were solid, too. The match might have panned out differently had Harvey Barnes taken a couple of golden chances, but Dean Henderson had a quiet afternoon. With Willy Boly ruled out, Scott McKenna slotted in alongside Joe Worrall. McKenna has had some critics this term and perhaps hasn’t always found it easy in the top-flight, but he did well against City. And as Cooper frequently points out, he is going to need everybody.
Injury woe
The only negative on Saturday was a couple of injury concerns. Ryan Yates had to come off at half-time after taking a whack to the face, and Henderson almost had to do the same right at the end of the match.
The shot-stopper clearly hurt himself when taking a goal-kick. He was treated on the pitch but managed to continue, although Cooper didn’t sound particularly positive afterwards.
The very last thing he needs is more bodies in the treatment room. Forest have enough absentees to contend with as it is. Yates and Henderson are key players, too, losing either or both for any period of time would be a huge blow.
With Boly and Taiwo Awoniyi also out, it only underlines the need for signings in the window. The Reds need cover, and they need strength in depth.
Jesse Lingard and Cheikhou Kouyate were both watching on from the sidelines. The former shouldn’t be too far away from a return, but with Moussa Niakhate, Omar Richards and Giulian Biancone all still sidelined, getting new additions in is a must. All being well, Danilo will be through the door soon. If everything goes as expected, he will join a team which is very much on an upward curve.
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