Nottingham Forest are determined to make the most of the break in the Premier League season after ensuring they go into it off the bottom of the table. Asked if the break comes at a good or bad time as the Reds look to have built some momentum,
Steve Cooper said: “It was coming. I just think now we have won going into it, that was really important, because it does linger for a little bit when you go into an international break – I know this is a little bit different – when you have lost. We had that with the Fulham game, for example, with the international break before. That helps the first part of the break, for sure. Good or bad time, it doesn’t matter, it is here and we’ve put a plan together, which we are committing to. It includes a little bit of time away from each other at the start. I think that is important, to get away from each other, to reflect and recover and think through what has gone on. But then we have got to get back in and make the break a really hard-working and productive one. We have got a real plan for that, with the programme and the games, the periodisation of it all, both on and off the pitch. We have really thoroughly thought it through, so we look forward to committing to that now. Because, for sure, we have to be better in the next part of the season than we were in the first part, in terms of the points tally. Whatever happened, it was never going to be a great league position, let’s be honest. But it could have been worse, so that’s pleasing.It just allows us to go into the break not suffering after a defeat. It allows us to enjoy some time away and think about what it is going to take to do well going forward. But then we need to get back together and work as hard as we can to make the break a productive one.”
