Head coach Steve Cooper admits he can sometimes be left feeling a little embarrassed when Nottingham Forest’s results do not match the show of support they receive from fans.
But he continues to use that backing as a source of motivation, well aware how desperate supporters are for the Reds to remain in the Premier League after it took so long for the club to return to the top table. “Me too,” Cooper says when that is put to him.
A 10-match winless run sees Forest in the relegation zone as they head to Liverpool this afternoon. And the Reds boss is doing what he can to ensure the players know who and what they are fighting for.
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"There are so many things at this club that can become a burden, if you look at it that way,” said Cooper. “I don’t, I look at it as a privilege and an advantage. That can be the case with this.
"When you're talking about the atmospheres in the City Ground, the stories… Sometimes I relay to the players some of the letters I get. I just showed Ryan Yates a letter I received in the week, when he came in my office - again! There’s loads of things where we can go, ‘Look what we’re representing, lads, look at the responsibility we have’.
“I know a lot of clubs and managers can do that. But we’ve got our own purpose and our own greater good and ours is special to us. We are trying to use all of that in a positive way.
"I was asked about the reception we get before games. We are so lucky that happens, because in our circumstances with the run we’re on, nine times out of 10 you get the opposite - certainly the manager does - and I understand all of that.
“But for me that becomes a little bit of paranoia about wanting to do even better than what we are trying to do. I don't take it for granted. Sometimes it's a little bit embarrassing even that we can't then get the result we want.
“But in terms of that wider context, it's not a burden. Never. And to be fair to the supporters, they haven't made it that either, with the way they have supported the team up until now - and I’m pretty sure that will continue, we hope it does anyway.
“But we have got to do our bit in that as well. We will never be dragged down by that, for me it's the opposite.”
In addition to relaying letters, Cooper has also used this week to show his players examples of teams who have hauled themselves out of trouble in the past. But he wants to make clear that history lesson also came with a warning.
“Teams have been on far worse runs than us in previous years, in terms of not getting a win, and have still survived relegation - not just by the skin of their teeth but by a decent margin in the end,” he explained. “We didn’t do it to give the players an excuse or to say that what’s happening is OK, because it’s not. But it’s not uncommon either.
“At the same time, there’s also examples of teams who haven’t come out of those runs and where they have ended up. That was the point we were making to the players, saying that it is something which does happen, with some examples of how it has been turned around, but also a warning of what happens if you don’t do that.
“Sometimes when you are going through what we’re going through, you can feel as though you are on your own a little bit and it has never happened before. We just wanted to make the point that it has and also that we’re not the only ones going through it at this moment in time.
“The situation is far from positive. But it could be even more negative if you make it that way. Don’t make it fluffy; don’t make excuses and say that things are okay, because they are not. But at the same time, we have to have a mindset of turning things around, making things better - just making a difference - and that is what we are trying to do.”
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