Former Nottingham Forest manager and player Stuart Pearce has backed Steve Cooper to guide the Reds to Premier League safety this season.
Forest are playing Premier League football for the first time in more than two decades this season after Steve Cooper masterminded a revival which saw them rise from the bottom of the Championship to a triumphant return to English football's top flight through the play-offs.
But the Reds have a battle on their hands if they are to avoid going straight back down. Forest currently sit 16th in the Premier League and are just two points off the bottom three.
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But Forest legend Stuart Pearce believes Cooper is the right man to guide the club to safety. The 60-year-old, nicknamed 'Psycho' during his playing days for his aggressive style of play, made over 400 appearances for the Reds and managed the club between 2014 and 2015.
He told Yahoo Sport: “They started the season playing the way they did in the Championship and Steve Cooper, who is an astute manager, decided after six or seven games that that openness probably won’t suffice to keep them in the division.
“They changed the way they play and have been really good. Their home record will be really important but they have done really well.
“They have invested a lot in the players, they gave the manager a new five-year contract when a lot of people were thinking his position was under threat; I think that was a masterstroke.
“They have a manager that is in sync with what Nottingham Forest stands for as a football club. He has embraced the history. You only have to spend a short period of time in his company to realise he is very passionate about the club.”
Forest are next in action on Saturday when they face fellow relegation strugglers Wolves at the City Ground (3pm kick-off) before another crucial clash at Leeds three days later.
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