Head coach Steve Cooper has told his Nottingham Forest players they cannot afford to dwell on Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Luton Town.
An ill-tempered game at Kenilworth Road saw the Reds’ 10-match unbeaten Championship run ended in controversial fashion. A debatable penalty proved the difference between the two sides, on an afternoon when the visitors were not at their best.
They had their chances to get something from the game, including seeing a Djed Spence goal ruled out for an offside decision which Cooper disputed. But it was the Hatters who took the three points, to provide another twist in the promotion race.
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Forest are still firmly in the mix, however - as are Luton. And Cooper is keen to see a reaction from his squad when they host West Bromwich Albion on Monday (8pm kick-off).
“We were going to lose a game at some stage. We were on a good run, in good form, playing well and scoring goals,” he said.
“I’ve said to the players everything I’ve just said, plus we were going to lose a game at some stage - even if we didn’t really deserve to lose. Now we have to show that we can handle that.
“I don’t want to see any disappointment on the training ground. We get on with it.
“I’ve said to the players, we’ve shown lots of our good sides to our game and to our mentality. We need to show another one for Monday.
“Nobody wants to lose a game. But we’ve lost a game, so we’ve got to show we can deal with that and move on quickly.
“I’ve said to them, if I see any disappointment on the training ground, then that’s when I’ll really have the hump. That will be our approach.
“Whatever happened in this game, we were still going to play West Brom on Monday. So stick to the plan and the approach, get the frustration out of us. We love working for and playing for this huge football club, so let’s go represent it as best we can in the next game.”
