Steve Cooper has had plenty of positives to reflect on during the international break, and now his challenge is to keep Nottingham Forest’s good start to the season going.
The Reds return to action on Monday night when Burnley visit the City Ground. They will be eager to pick up from where they left off, having beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last time out.
Victory in the capital meant Forest spent the fortnight in the top half of the Premier League table. Both Cooper and owner Evangelos Marinakis have outlined how the aim is for the club to push on this term after securing survival with a game to spare last time around.
Maintaining their encouraging form in the block of four matches before the next international break will be important. As the Reds head coach looks to plot a course for his team, we take a look at some of the key things for him to address as the season resumes.
Formation change
During the transfer window, Cooper made clear new signings were required in order to evolve the team’s style of play. He has spoken about how he wants his side to be flexible when it comes to the systems used.
So far this season, Forest have played with a three-man defence and wing-backs. But Cooper has outlined his desire to switch to a four-man defence – perhaps not all the time, but it certainly seems to be his preference.
Given he tends to take things slowly with newcomers, it might take time to implement the change. Likewise, a complete transformation towards a more attacking style is unlikely to happen overnight. The aim will be to keep putting building blocks in place.
Injury check
After last term’s injury woes, the club tried to address those issues in the summer with a new fitness specialist brought in. Thankfully, so far this season the list of players sidelined has not been quite so long.
However, Cooper will still want to check where some players are at – particularly when it comes to choosing his team to face the Clarets. Having Felipe fully fit again would be a boost, for example.
Cooper watched the Brazilian get minutes under his belt for the B team last week. Whether he is ready to start for the first-team remains to be seen.
Get Hudson-Odoi firing
Cooper knows what Callum Hudson-Odoi is all about; he is well aware of the 22-year-old’s talent. The challenge is to get the winger playing to his potential.
Hudson-Odoi was part of the World Cup-winning England Under-17 side under Cooper. But he hasn’t had the easiest time of it since then, being hampered by injury at times.
If Forest get to see him at his best, they will have a player on their hands. And one who could prove to be an excellent bit of business, having signed for a bargain fee.
The flurry of business done on deadline day means some of the Reds’ summer signings will still need time to find their feet. Some will have had the chance to settle in during the international break, but others have been on duty with their countries.
Cooper’s knack of getting a squad to gel and players to buy into the cause was crucial last season. He doesn’t have as many new faces to integrate this year, but he will still need to call upon the same skills. And fostering a strong team spirit is just as important now as it was 12 months ago.
It will take time for the Welshman to settle on his best team, and he still needs to really get to know some of the most recent additions. In the short-term, he also has some big selection dilemmas for Monday night.
