Something happened at Nottingham Forest between Steve Cooper and owner Evangelos Marinakis that should inspire Leicester City supporters.
Nuno Espirito Santo led Nottingham Forest to safety last season, despite a difficult campaign marked by VAR blunders and point deductions.
The Portuguese manager took charge in late last year after the Reds fired Steve Cooper.
Cooper has returned to Premier League management after leaving Forest months ago, having been appointed to the position at Leicester.
Stan Collymore, a former Forest and Leicester striker, has now commented on the appointment, following some anxiety from fans at the King Power Stadium.
Steve Cooper built a great relationship with Evangelos Marinakis.
Despite suffering criticism during his time at the City Ground, he enjoyed the support of the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, who gave him a new contract in 2022.
The 44-year-old has agreed to a three-year contract with the Foxes following their return to the Premier League.
Cooper spent slightly over two years at Forest, overseeing 107 games and averaging 1.43 points per game.
And Collymore has confessed that something from his stint at Forest could inspire Leicester fans.
Speaking to Caught Offside, the analyst praised Cooper’s relationship with his players and the club’s owner.
“I think with Steve, he inspires a lot of loyalty from his players – that was obvious at Forest,” remarked the coach.
“Even the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, when Forest initially came up, Steve was under a lot of strain because of how many games they were losing. Marinakis handed him a new deal because Forest supporters wanted Steve to stay.
“Leicester City fans will enjoy that. They’ll like the passion Steve brings, and I believe Steve Cooper is a better choice in this moment (not necessarily in comparison to Graham Potter), whereas Graham will most likely be looking to join a stable club and lead them from the middle of the table to European positions.”
Forest has its own difficulties to resolve this summer.
Despite possessing players of the caliber of Morgan Gibbs-White and Murillo, Forest struggled throughout the 2023/24 season.
Of course, the points deduction played a role in their troubles; but, Forest must improve this summer to avoid a repeat.
It may be claimed that Sheffield United and Burnley are being replaced in the league by stronger teams like Leicester and Southampton, putting more pressure on the sides who narrowly avoided relegation.
However, Forest appear to be making moves this summer, with Carlos Miguel’s release clause activated to equip them with a new goalkeeper.
