Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper previews Saturday's Premier League game at Chelsea.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 You have a game to recover from, a game to get ready for, but in the meantime we have
00:08 got deadline day fast approaching tomorrow. How busy are you expecting to be today and
00:14 tomorrow?
00:15 Thanks for reminding me, all those things are going on at once. I think like you said
00:22 in the question, there's a game to digest from last night, which obviously we didn't
00:27 get the returns that we wanted in a number of ways. We have got a big game, tough game,
00:33 incredibly tough game on the weekend, so it's really important that the work, the normal
00:40 work around them two things stay at the level that's needed.
00:45 But of course, yeah, transfer window, it's busy at the moment. There's some things that
00:51 could happen, some things that might not and everything in between that. I do think there
00:58 will be some players coming in and I think there will be some players leaving as well,
01:03 loans etc. etc. So, yeah, loads of moving parts, no official news at the moment, but
01:12 loads of moving parts, so let's see.
01:15 In terms of potential departures, we've spoken previously about Brennan Johnson, is there
01:20 any change in his situation?
01:22 No, there isn't. Like I said, if something's going to happen with any of the boys that
01:27 have been spoken about both ways, then it's coming to that time of course. So, we shall
01:34 see. But no, in terms of Brennan and any other speculation that may be going on, like I said,
01:43 there's no official news. So, we just have to carry on as normal. Boys are in later for
01:50 training and like I said, we'll treat it as best we can as a normal day.
01:57 How hard is that for you and all your planning when you don't know if you're going to lose
02:01 a player of his stature at the club, an important player, you don't know whether you'll have
02:07 him for the weekend?
02:09 I think you have to be careful you don't assume that any player might not be here on the weekend.
02:15 I think that you have to take the information that you receive from time to time from the
02:21 club and the points in a certain direction that things may go and deal with that. So,
02:27 I wouldn't say that there's massive disruption to our planning apart from some injuries that
02:33 we've picked up this weekend, with it being a three-game week and trying to manage the
02:39 usual circumstances around that.
02:43 So, listen, we always have the best plans laid down for games and it never normally
02:50 goes straight forward. There's always something that comes up and in the context of this week
02:55 it could be with the transfer window deadline, it could be a change of personnel with players
03:01 coming and going or maybe not. So, we'll just deal with it as it comes. You could be sitting
03:07 in front of any manager now and they'll tell you the same so we're no different to anybody
03:11 else, there's no excuses. It's just something that we'll deal with as best we can.
03:18 What's your gut feeling? Will Brunon still be your player come the weekend?
03:22 I'm not really thinking about it because, one, you've asked me that question for about
03:27 six weeks and, two, like I said at the start of our conversation, Kirstie, I really think
03:35 you've got to focus on what you're in control of and that's the daily work. So, like I said,
03:39 the players are reporting later, which was the plan. After a night game, meetings, training,
03:47 recovery for some boys, all the normal stuff, we'll just carry on as usual.
03:51 You're being linked with a whole host of names coming into the club, Bashoie and Didi, Callum
03:59 Hudson-Odoi, just to name a few. Are they the kind of players, the calibre of players
04:04 you'd like to bring to the club?
04:06 Well, I think we would all like to add the right players to our squad. Any manager will
04:14 tell you that. So, for sure, if there's some things to be done that we feel can help us,
04:19 then I do believe that there's a couple of players, Tavares and Morello, that are at
04:28 the final stages. Not quite done, but the process is ticking along quite nicely. I hope
04:35 I haven't gone too soon on that because, as you know, until things are officially done
04:41 then you never quite know. So, yeah, there's a lot of work going on and there's maybe something
04:47 that's been speculated that could be very true and some that couldn't be any further
04:50 away from the truth. Like I said, probably everything in between that. So, yeah, if we
04:56 get the opportunity to strengthen the squad and reshape the squad a little bit in a way
05:01 that we feel is going to help us then, for sure we'll be up for it. But it's easier said
05:06 than done.
05:07 In terms of getting ready for this game coming up at the weekend, big game, Joe Warrall has
05:14 served his suspension now. But he's been dealing with issues off the pitch, a really sad incident
05:21 that saw him lose his uncle, the policeman who lost his life very sadly in this incident
05:27 in Nottingham. How have you been dealing with that with him and will he be available to
05:33 play?
05:34 Yeah, well they're two very different things and their family always comes first. You're
05:39 right, Joe has been dealing with an awful tragedy and has lost somebody who's very close
05:48 to him and obviously dealing with the family and etc, etc. So, listen, when any of our
05:57 players or staff have difficult moments, we like to think that our biggest strength is
06:04 how we come together. Behind the scenes and on show on a match day, it's something that
06:11 we're all very proud to be part of, how much of a together club we are. So, Joe for sure
06:18 is dealing with the tragedy. We're supporting him as best we can. We've known since the
06:31 incident happened, well I certainly have, with Joe and unfortunately it's coming to
06:38 the public light now. But we're here for him, like I said, family comes first, football
06:44 comes second and we'll help him and his family as best we can.
06:49 I guess it does, as you say. It probably makes everything else seem insignificant at the
06:56 time but you do have to focus on the football as well and get all the players ready for
07:03 that whilst they're coming around him and supporting him as a player. How is the mood
07:10 around the camp at the moment because it's been a difficult couple of games that they've
07:14 been dealing with on the pitch?
07:16 Yeah, well they're two different things. We won't take our focus off the football and
07:24 we'll be mindful of how we support Joe as well. Joe's a no fuss guy to be honest and
07:31 however he and his family want to deal with this, we'll be led by him. But he won't want
07:39 it to interfere in any way, shape or form with football. Hopefully football can give
07:44 him a little bit of respite as well. So it's not going to affect our plans, the guys are
07:49 really together. If any way these sort of things should motivate even more to bring
07:55 together.
07:56 It's a really tough game on the weekend away at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge. We knew these
08:05 three away games before the first international break were going to be tough. They've proved
08:09 to be that too. Although we've shown some real positive signs in the performances and
08:14 on another day could have got a point or two. So we need to really focus on what we've done
08:23 well in them games and look at the stuff that we know we need to do better. But be really
08:28 motivated certainly to play better than last night, that's for sure. And to go to Chelsea
08:35 full of confidence and belief in the fact that we can have a positive day. I feel like
08:41 the signs in the two away games so far have shown us that there's no reason that we can't
08:48 go there full of belief. We know how tough the challenge is going to be. An incredible
08:52 squad of players, world class manager, all the obvious things that we know. We've got
08:58 to be perfect on the day but why not?
09:01 You mentioned that away from home you're looking more potent, three away goals already. It
09:12 took you well into the new year to manage that last season. Has your approach changed
09:17 quite a lot? How many chances are you creating and the link-ups?
09:20 I'm mindful that we're going into a really tough game on Saturday. So for sure there's
09:31 been some better signs in the league performances so far in terms of what you alluded to about
09:38 creating and scoring goals. But it's still very, very early days and the bare minimum
09:45 we've got to aim for is to keep that going. I'm also mindful that we haven't picked up
09:51 any points away from home. So although there has been some positivity, but it's only a
09:57 comparison to last season which wasn't very good at all, both in performances a lot of
10:01 the time and definitely results. But we're just really, really committed to trying to
10:08 improve all aspects of our game, home and away. At the moment we're talking about away
10:12 games because the awards are coming up on Saturday. We're just addressing every single
10:18 aspect as we go along. Really committing to the team that we want to become. To do that
10:26 I think we need to take it step by step. So I go back to let's look at what's gone well
10:33 so far in the games and try and replicate that. But at the same time we've really got
10:38 to focus on the things that should be better as well. That's our culture, always wanting
10:46 to do better, always wanting to do more. While making sure that the non-negotiables of the
10:52 game, the work ethic, sticking to the game plan, is at the highest level because there's
11:01 no room for error in this league. So loads of things to focus on but I think what we
11:07 have done definitely so far this season in the three league games is focused even more
11:13 on ourselves, on our internal performance, on what we can do in a game. Which to be fair
11:20 is what we believe in anyway but we know in the end if you want to get the results and
11:27 the performances that we all want then it's got to come from within and that's really
11:32 where we've been.
11:33 So what's it like having someone in the building like Taiwo who's scored in seven consecutive
11:38 matches, are you having to revise targets for him?
11:42 No not really. I think for me when something is going really well there needs to be an
11:50 absolute paranoia about not getting complacent, not taking your foot off the gas and striving
11:55 to do even better. In the end I think that's what the real top teams, top players in all
12:02 walks of life and certainly sports do is that what's gone is never enough. I think our work
12:13 with Taiwo at the moment is to keep believing in him, to keep supporting him but to keep
12:18 pushing him that he's got to keep this going if he can. Like I said the goals are the talking
12:23 point and we want that and every team loves a number nine that can score but we've just
12:28 been really pleased with how his performances have been, how he's trained. He's never lacked
12:35 work ethic, he's never lacked commitment and application and I just think now he's really
12:42 thriving in English football, in Premier League football. Last season probably some time on
12:48 the pitch, some injury that he picked up which were unfortunate. He's had a real good period
12:54 and experience of understanding what it takes to do well in this league so he's certainly
12:59 started well, he's going well but the ambition has to be to keep improving and to keep going
13:06 if he can keep scoring great. But I want him to focus on keeping playing well as well because
13:10 he's a real handful.
13:11 Paranoia is not normally a positive word but...
13:14 Yeah, well maybe it's the wrong word, maybe there's a better word to describe it but I
13:19 guess what I'm saying is that when things are going well the mentality has to be to
13:26 keep improving and not to stand still and that's where we are with T.
13:35 What are your early impressions of Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino?
13:38 Yeah, I've watched all the games and obviously when you prepare for a game that's what you
13:44 do, you get into the real detail of what an opponent could look like. Yeah, a real dangerous
13:51 team of course, some top level players all over the pitch and can attack in a number
13:59 of ways. There's some really quick athletic players at the top end of the pitch and they've
14:04 also got players who are really creative and can make really dangerous crosses and final
14:09 passes and like I said a lot of their attacks have not been of one way, there's a real variety
14:15 in terms of how they can penetrate. So we need to be mindful of that but this is the
14:22 Premier League, this is Chelsea, it's away from home and we shouldn't be expecting anything
14:27 different than to come up against a really good team, well coached, full of world class
14:33 players but we've got to stand up to it and believe that we can have an impact. We've
14:40 got to look at our internal challenges, we've got to look at what we can do and try and
14:45 let that be the main focus of getting what we want out of the game. It's a game that
14:53 we're looking forward to that's for sure.
14:55 You've talked about focusing on yourself but is part of it as well because Chelsea have
15:01 got another churn of new players, having obviously been through Graeme Potter, Frank Lampard
15:05 and now another new manager and it's very early on in his face so I guess he's not completely
15:11 set on how they want to play and which players he wants to use.
15:14 I don't know, that's a question for them. They look alright to me I've got to say. But
15:22 no, in all of the games that they've played they've had some really good phases of play
15:29 and some really good attacking moments and obviously the game against Liverpool was a
15:34 real high level game as you'd expect between Chelsea and Liverpool. So we're fully aware
15:42 of the players that they have and what they can do and the qualities they have but let's
15:48 talk about us a bit more and see what we can bring.
15:51 Scott McKenna, what attribute or part of his game or mentality has really impressed you
16:01 to earn your trust and become a fixture in your team in the promotion year and then continue
16:06 to be a very reliable player despite a number of new arrivals in that time?
16:11 Yeah I think there's not many guys that, I think I'm coming up to two years there now
16:19 is it? Yeah two seasons and two years which is three seasons if you like, we've only just
16:25 started this one and Scott's one of not many that has been ever present so it's been nice
16:32 to see him grow as you just mentioned through that promotion year and adapting to Premier
16:39 League football and I feel that that's what he's done. He never gets too high or too low,
16:46 he's a real sort of very committed, very professional player, very engaged in his learning and for
16:56 me has taken things nicely into his stride of the challenges of like I said trying to
17:05 get out of the league and then dealing with being in the league, dealing with some injuries
17:10 and we want to keep him on that upward trajectory for sure because there's a lot of growth in
17:15 Scott still, I don't mean height because he's obviously a big lad in his game that we really
17:22 want to push him with and I just hope he believes in himself as much as we believe in him because
17:29 we really feel that he's got another level to go to. A little bit of luck with injury,
17:34 obviously it's not the case at this moment in time but a little bit of luck with injury
17:38 and a little bit more experience at the level and we feel that he can keep progressing and
17:43 that's a nice challenge to be working with him.
17:47 Hi Charlie.
17:48 Hi Stephen, just one from me, on the transfer stuff, you mentioned players coming, possibly
17:57 players possibly going, do you need to get players out so that you can get certain players
18:04 in just in terms of balancing the squad but also balancing the books, FFP works?
18:09 Don't know on the latter part of that question, I'm obviously aware that FFP can have an impact
18:15 with clubs etc but I can't tell you I'm an expert in understanding of it. I think for
18:21 sure you do have to get the balance right with numbers and positional mix in terms of
18:27 strength and depth for certain positions so I just think that is a natural process of
18:34 if some players come in some players will leave or if some players have to leave then
18:38 we have to replace so nothing out of the norm really in terms of that but for sure we've
18:46 got to try and get the balance right in terms of covering the positions that we want because
18:52 where we want to be is that we can get options where we can play maybe more than one system
18:59 and whether it's three at the back or four at the back and all that sort of stuff and
19:03 I don't think we've quite been there yet with what we'd like, not far off but so let's see,
19:09 we're trying to get the balance right and like I say when the window closes at least
19:14 we'll know exactly what we've got to work with and what we think the right plan might
19:18 be.
19:19 I just wanted to go back to Joe just briefly if I may, first of all I know you said he's
19:26 obviously dealing with a lot right now, I wondered how he was but also what support
19:32 the club was actually offering. A few months ago I actually spoke to Sir Jorion, spoke
19:37 about the death of his brother and he said he wanted to get back playing almost straight
19:41 away as a tribute to his brother.
19:43 I think, respectfully, I think that it's as Serge's story to tell and I think it's Joe's
19:50 story to tell as well. I don't want to speak too much, these are grown up guys who are
19:54 very clear on their personal situations whether it's unfortunate circumstances like that or
20:02 football or wherever so all I can say is what I said to Kirstie before is that our support
20:09 for him is unconditional, that's what we do here, on and off the pitch and that's what
20:15 we're offering Joe at the moment. Beyond that I think he'll speak if he wants to when he's
20:22 ready. All I know is that we're here for him and whatever he needs from us he'll get it.
20:29 Do you have a decision to make about, not just necessarily in Joe's situation but other
20:32 players, whether they are mentally prepared and capable of playing in a big match?
20:38 Yeah, that happens every week. That's the life of a Premier League player. I don't think,
20:46 listen, you mean around the circumstances with Joe?
20:50 Well Joe, other players who might have suffered personal tragedies can handle that.
20:55 Yeah, unfortunately sometimes you have to deal with that. You hope that it's not often
20:59 because of what you said, it means normally there's a tragedy involved but there's always
21:02 context to a player's present situation and you take all of these things into account.
21:11 I think in our culture we have a big emphasis on communication, a big emphasis on making
21:17 time for players, for staff, try and do it on a level. I say all the time we don't like
21:25 to work with a hierarchy sort of attitude. Of course there's times where people like
21:30 myself have to take the lead on certain things but in general we want the culture to be a
21:35 real level one where everyone has a similar voice. So, it gives me strong communication
21:40 is something that's a big aspect of our programme and we're always trying to understand where
21:47 players and staff may be at any moment in time.
21:51 Just a final one on league form. I know a lot was made of your away form last year in
21:55 comparison to your home form. I know that on the road you've been playing well this
22:00 season, perhaps haven't got the rewards that maybe as a team you deserved. Manchester United
22:06 game must have been tough on the players. How do you stop that mentality creeping back
22:11 in where, change it from 'we can't win anything on the road, we're going to focus at home'
22:16 to actually 'we really can get points on the road, crucial points'?
22:19 Yeah, better luck with decision making wouldn't go amiss if I'm being honest. I'm a big believer
22:24 in making your own luck but obviously that went massively against us last week which
22:30 was plain to see and I'm sure enough has been said about that. So we could do with things
22:39 going our way and again, big team, Chelsea, big club. We need everybody involved in the
22:45 game to be strong and to be at the level. So, I'm mindful that we have done a bit better
22:54 in the two games but I'm also conscious that we had zero points and in the end it's up
22:59 to us to change that. So we're just continuing to be on that journey, backing ourselves,
23:05 believing in ourselves and not just hoping that we can get some results but trying to
23:12 make it happen as well and Saturday's the next opportunity for that.
23:16 Thanks Steve, good luck.
23:17 You too.
23:18 Is there any injury updates?
23:33 So obviously Rouse out injured at the moment, Danilo unfortunately has picked up an injury
23:39 as well. Scott has picked up an injury as you saw him walk off against United on last
23:46 Saturday. Philippe is back training and was on the bench last night so that was a boost
23:57 really. It has been a boost that he's back with us because we all know how influential
24:02 he was for us last season. I think that's it really. Wayne is back in training and I
24:14 guess he's close to being fully fit. That's it, so there's a mixed bag really, some unfortunate
24:22 situations that have come our way in the last seven days but on the whole we'll be ready
24:30 for the weekend.
24:31 You mentioned about the ins and outs of what we could see over the next 36 hours or so.
24:36 Possible ones.
24:37 Indeed. You mentioned as well about hoping to achieve the flexibility to play different
24:42 systems and without this meaning to sound like an obvious question but as the head coach
24:46 how important is it to have the confidence and the ability of your players to do that
24:49 and have the tools to be able to do that?
24:51 Yeah well that's what we want and I think that's what the modern game requires and even
24:57 though you might set up on paper that looks like a certain system I think you see so many
25:02 teams and I want us to be the same where you can play a number of systems in the same game
25:07 and just to tweak your tactics on. If you're playing a back three that you turn into a
25:12 back four without even knowing and vice versa. So we see so many teams now that on paper
25:17 will be a back four but build up in a three. So that is the modern way but to do that you
25:25 need players that can be flexible in terms of what areas of the pitch they can play in
25:30 and we certainly want to be a squad that can do that as well and there's a bit of work
25:33 to do on that for sure. So yeah I think flexibility in a tactical approach is very modern now
25:42 and we don't want to be any different. A formation is only something that's on paper really.
25:50 When you go and play we want to be a lot different. So yeah that's the ongoing tactical challenges
26:00 that any coach or manager will have and we're trying to do the best we can with what we
26:05 have and like I said when the window shuts at least we know the real approach we can
26:10 have then until things may change again.
26:12 Thank you.
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