Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper insists he doesn't feel under any additional pressure as he aims to turn around a poor run of form.
Instead, the Welshman is using a tough period as extra motivation ahead of the Reds’ clash at Leicester City on Monday night. His team will head to the King Power Stadium looking to end a four-match losing streak which has left them second-bottom in the Premier League table.
Cooper has had a fortnight to mull over defeat to Fulham last time out, when Forest threw away a lead at home for the second game in succession. But he says the two-week international break also gave him the chance to reflect on how much being in charge of the club means to him - something which increases the 42-year-old’s desire to improve results.
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Asked if he felt under pressure, Cooper said: "No. Listen, nobody likes it, it's not nice, but I think it is counterproductive to think like that. I think it is more about motivation and a determination to improve.
"I think everyone knows how important this job is to me and how much it has meant to me since coming in, and that has grown. Having the little break and a bit of time to reflect and think, I have really realised how much it means to me.
"When you really care about something, or someone, it really hones in on difficult times. That has been a real internal feeling of, actually, how lucky I am to be here and how privileged I am to be here, how proud I am and how much it really means to me.
"With that comes a real determination, motivation and desire to improve. The reality is, it is not unusual for a team like us, newly-promoted, to go through a bad spell. What we have got to do is fight to limit that and improve. So, let's get on with it.
"A team that succeeds is one that can recover from setbacks or difficult moments. Success isn't easy; it is not linear, it is up and down. We are going through a down, and we have to make sure we get on an up.
"Everything that we're talking about now is what myself and the players talk about all the time. It's okay to recognise you are in a difficult moment, roll your sleeves up and deal with it, talk about it. Don't dwell on it, because that is when the external bad thinking can start happening.
"We are really positive about what we can do, rather than what we are not doing. It is not fluffy, it is not nicey-nice, don't get me wrong, there have been some grown-up conversations that have gone on - amongst myself to the players, players to players etc.
"But there is a real desire to do well, and I like that feeling. But there is only one way of dealing with it, and that is doing well in games. We've got to aim to do that.”
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