Nottingham Forest end their winter break in a good place, but boss Steve Cooper admits “the proof is in the pudding” when it comes to trying to pick up from where they left off.
A turnaround in fortunes saw the Reds build up some momentum just before the season paused for the World Cup. They went into the six-week hiatus having suffered just two defeats in eight games in all competitions and on the back of a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace which lifted them off the foot of the table.
Results and performances in the four friendlies they have played in preparation for the restart have been mixed, although Cooper’s side rounded things off by beating Valencia 2-1. The head coach is happy with what his team have been able to take away from the past few weeks, but knows all clubs are heading into unknown territory ahead of the Premier League’s resumption.
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Asked about the impact of the break, the Welshman said after the victory at the Mestalla Stadium: “We’ll see. We’ve certainly stuck to the plan that we set out. We’ve committed to it.
“There’s been no problem with the lads’ attitude, training has been good, games have been mixed - but I understand that, with the different things we’ve challenged the players with.
“But we’ve all done it with the objective of being ready to play competitively, first at Blackburn (in the Carabao Cup) and then when the Premier League restarts. We hope we’ve done well out of it, but the proof will be in the pudding.”
Valencia saw most of the ball in the opening 45 minutes of Friday night’s friendly but struggled to create too many clearcut chances, and the visitors went in at the break ahead thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s goal. It was an improved second half from Forest and although their hosts equalised, Emmanuel Dennis bagged a winner.
“We scored two but we could have scored two or three more maybe,” Cooper said. “That’s why I need to push the guys to be better with the ball, because when we do show good quality with it we can create good chances - which is how we were starting to look just before the break.
“We go back to England in a better place. As we have done after every game. Some of the games we haven’t played well at all, but there are some things we’ve taken out of them which we were looking for.”
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