Steve Cooper: Under-pressure Nottingham Forest boss not thinking about losing his job after Fulham loss

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper insisted he was not thinking about losing his job and can turn things around amid reports he will be sacked after an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at Fulham.

Cooper’s side suffered a fourth consecutive defeat with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis leaving Craven Cottage 20 minutes before full-time.

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Reports have since emerged that Marinakis is set to sack Cooper, with former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui reportedly lined up to replace him.

Asked whether he was still the right person to turn it around, Cooper responded: “Yeah, of course I do.

“I’ve just been asked similar questions about do I fear for my job and all that sort of thing – and they’re the right questions to ask and the normal ones to ask with the run that we’re [on] – but honestly and this a genuine feeling that I probably think about that the least.

“What I think about is what’s right for the football club and the run that we’re on. I don’t worry about my reputation or what it might mean for me, I always think about what does it mean for the football club because I’m that attached to it and I think you should feel that way when you’re responsible for for the footballing side of a club and especially this one.

“It [losing my job] is not something I’m thinking about, although quite rightly you asked the questions and that will be written about, but what’s right for the football club is right for me whatever that is.”

The dismal loss means Forest have won just once in their last 11 games and sit six points above the relegation zone.

Forest fell to a 2-0 half-time deficit with goals from Raul Jimenez and Alex Iwobi. The Fulham duo added a goal each after the break before Tom Cairney added a fifth with ease.

“A painful night, obviously. A scoreline that we have to accept that we deserve,” added Cooper. “We gave away the two goals in the first half and we just completely come away from the required technical and tactical levels to be competitive in this league.

“And then didn’t recover from that with enough desire and will to make up for it. Pulling out of tackles, losing races, ending up on the floor when it’s 50/50 combat, and if you do that then you can have a night like tonight.

“The lack of desire to defend penetration of some sort, whether it’s balls in behind, whether it’s combinations, everything that can happen attacking-wise – a lack of desire to and will to defend that then you run the risk of getting what we’ve got tonight which was a real painful one, and one I take responsibility for, it was on me, no doubt about that and we have to own up to it.”

At the end of the game, Cooper walked up to the Forest fans and apologised for the result by holding two hands in the air.

The Forest boss insisted that he – and not his players – are responsible for the slip in form.

“Criticism for me tonight will be absolutely fair and I accept it,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I embrace it because nobody wants it, but I would definitely deal with it. When you’re a leader and you’re manager or a head coach of a football club, you have to be willing to be a good version of you in terms of your morals and principles in difficult moments and that’s what I aim to be.

“I know it’s a very bad run of results. I would say tonight is different to the ones before. I hope tonight is an outlier, but it’s definitely a different defeat to the ones previously to this. I know that loads of things will get written about, but honestly what’s right for the football club is right for me because that’s what’s most important to me.

“I deserve all the criticism, I deserve the blame. It’s on me. I want it to come to me before anybody else and then I’ll decide where that criticism goes when we review and deal with the players. It’s not baffling tonight it was clear what happened and we can’t hide away from that.”

As the goals flew in against Fulham, the visiting Nottingham Forest supporters chose to sing Cooper’s name – something that the Forest boss appreciated but found it awkward.

“It’s embarrassing. I don’t deserve it. I’m grateful – they know that – and completely unique, but just wish it wasn’t the case because what they showed outwardly, they’d be feeling the opposite, inwardly, and rightly so,” he said of that reaction.

“I have to accept it. It’s on me. I take responsibility for it. Please don’t be writing about anything else apart from me.

“We should have got a different reception than what we got I just wanted to make sure that. We didn’t go anywhere but in front of the fans to take whatever was coming and me first. That’s why I went to the front. It has to be on me.”