Head coach Steve Cooper says there has been no change to his relationship with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis amid speculation about his future.
The Welshman has come under pressure on the back of a seven-match winless run which has left the Reds teetering on the edge of the relegation zone. They sit just one point above the bottom three ahead of Tuesday night’s clash at Leeds United.
Marinakis watched on from the City Ground stands as Forest threw away a lead to draw 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. The match also saw a significant show of support from a fanbase which remains, overwhelmingly, behind Cooper.
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The Reds boss insists he doesn’t pay any attention to outside talk about his position - just as was the case when he was being linked with other clubs. He met the owner in London last week, and says they continue to have “normal” conversations.
“I speak to the owner regularly,” Cooper said. “I met him in London last Tuesday, which is not abnormal, it’s something that happens, not every week, but more than occasionally. It was a normal meeting, in terms of how it went.
“Filippo (Giraldi, sporting director) was there as well. We were discussing the normal stuff, around the team and around other things that are going on at the football club, all with the objective of how we can do well in the next games. Normal stuff. Nothing out of the norm.
“I see him on match days when he’s at games - always see him after, sometimes before. There’s nothing out of the norm.
“Whenever all of the senior guys speak, we’re all discussing, debating, supporting each other and really trying to talk about how we want to take the next steps going forward. It’s normal stuff.
“There’s nothing in the last few weeks that has been out of the norm, in terms of my relationship with ownership and Filippo. It’s been very, very normal in the amount of times I’ve seen them and spoken to them, and the type of communication we’ve had.
“I travelled to London last week, which I’ve done numerous times. I probably did it more last season than I have this season, just through circumstances. It’s been very, very normal.”
Cooper has spoken before about this season being his toughest coaching challenge. On top of the usual difficulties for any manager at this level, let alone one managing in the Premier League for the first time, he has also had to unify a dressing room which saw a record number of signings arrive last summer and deal with a substantial injury list.
“We just all want the same thing,” Cooper added on his relationship with Marinakis. “We’re all ambitious, we all believe in ourselves, we all believe in the team.
“It has been very different in the circumstances of how we have become who we are. But I think we’ve all got the mindset of making the most of it, trying to get the best out of it and trying to do something different that hasn’t been done before, which is a massive driver for me.
“It’s more about just trying to do that, to reach objectives and end up looking back at the season hoping it’s been a successful one. It’s more a looking forward mentality than looking back, it’s looking at what we can do.”
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