Steve Cooper had a very simple message for his Nottingham Forest troops at half-time of Saturday’s win over Leicester City, but it had the desired effect. The game was dead even at the break with neither team able to make the breakthrough. But the Reds were the better side in the second half and went on to win thanks to two goals from Brennan Johnson. The match winner revealed after the final whistle that Cooper told the team to up their intensity levels, something that gave them the edge over their demoralised East Midlands rivals. Fired up by the team talk, Johnson found the net just ten minutes after the restart, although he admitted he thought he was offside.
Steve Cooper said: “First and foremost, it is a really big win for us and what it means to the fans and for the table, so a really big win all round. At half-time [Cooper] just said to be better and to increase our intensity and we did that.
On his budding relationship with Morgan Gibbs-White, who provided the assist for his second goal,
Brennan Johnson said: “I’m working well with Gibbs-White and we are combining well when we are getting in on the right.
Johnson also paid special tribute to the Forest faithful at the City Ground, and believes they are playing a big role in the fight for Premier League survival this season.
Brennan Johnson said: “Every game here is special and it’s a special feeling. Never changes how much I love celebrating goals here. We know we didn’t perform well at the start of the season but we are growing into the game and growing into the league. We just need to keep chipping in with goals. We’ve had a really good week, and we’re just using the momentum of the fans. They support us at home and away even when we aren’t playing well so I think we owe everything to them.”
