With survival secured, the next challenge for Nottingham Forest is to build on the Premier League platform they have given themselves.
Head coach Steve Cooper knows the Reds cannot afford to stand still if they want to establish themselves in the top-flight. The aim for the club is to keep progressing as they look ahead to another season among the elite.
Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s goal, sealed safety with a game to spare. But it has been a testing season on and off the pitch at the City Ground.
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Cooper had to knit together 29 signings as a recruitment drive was required following promotion. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, recruitment chiefs George Syrianos and Andy Scott were sacked in October, chief executive Dane Murphy left in January, and only last month Ross Wilson was brought in as chief football officer to replace Filippo Giraldi, who lasted just six months as sporting director.
"This gives us an opportunity to grow as a football club," Cooper said. “There has been so much change behind the scenes that nobody will know about, that’s just a consequence of being in the league below for 20-odd years. No-one is to blame, it’s nobody’s fault, it’s just how it has been.
“This league is so demanding on the pitch, but it is so demanding off the pitch as well. And if you don’t get everything right and at a certain level, then you will get left behind. We have to have that mindset.
“We’ve certainly done some really good things. But we have to keep doing them to really compete at this level on a regular basis, because that’s what we want.
“It’s not going to be any easier next year. This league gets harder every year. But at least we have got the opportunity to do that and to grow the club. That’s really my overriding feeling: Come on, let’s get to work.
“It’s been a completely unique season, in terms of the number of players we have signed and the transition from Championship to Premier League.The coaching staff have been brilliant. The medical staff have been brilliant, with the amount of injuries they’ve had to deal with; we’ve got an amazing doctor here. This just allows us to keep going.
“Alignment is what I think the best football clubs and organisations have, from top to bottom. For a club to succeed, it’s definitely something that is required, and we’ll be no different.
“There has been so much change that has happened, and will continue and need to happen, just because of the uniqueness - maybe the surprise of getting promoted, the quick turnaround and loads of stuff nobody has seen behind the scenes. It just continues to allow us to put everything together and be what we really want to be. I’m just really pleased we’re able to continue that journey in the Premier League.”
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