Steve Cooper not surprised by Forest’s public endorsement of him

Marinakis felt the need to release a statement saying Cooper’s work was safe in response to what he called “false and damaging reports in the media.”

Several reports suggested that Cooper would lose his job if Forest were unable to stop their winless run that has brought them back to relegation danger.

But in the aftermath of Tuesday’s painful defeat at Leeds, the Welshman won the club’s ultimate support.

“I have a constant dialogue with the owner, so something came out publicly, there was nothing that surprised me,” he said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.

“The club is upset with some articles that are written before the games and they felt that they wanted to put an end to that. They were items that didn’t bother me, if I’m honest, if they don’t do this job.

“We are all prone to things like this, none of us are immune and that is absolutely fine.

“I always try to focus on what’s important, try to play a lot better than the other night and win more games than we’ve been winning.

“I have a lot of dialogue, the statement itself wanted to correct some things about the media that I’m not really involved in.”

Marinakis’s statement came with what seemed like a warning to Cooper that results and performances must improve immediately.

Cooper said he is aware of the situation.

“Regarding game wins, that didn’t need to be in the statement, we already know that and that’s a conversation that I, the staff and the players have been having and that’s something we’re trying to do,” he said.

“But take it all back, we need to play better than we did the other night and win more games than we’ve been winning, that’s always been my focus and always is.”

On his conversations with Marinakis, Cooper added: “That’s private. The amount of communication I have had with Mr. Marinakis has been pretty normal.

“There is always dialogue after a game and some calls after games. Never anything before, they are very respectful of letting us do our job and we are grateful for that.

“Whether he’s in the game or not, we talk about whatever needs to be talked about. That was the same after Leeds.”

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