BREAKING NEWS: Derby County tipped to appoint Steve Cooper as club new manager – Fans react.
BREAKING NEWS: Derby County tipped to appoint Steve Cooper as club new manager – Fans react.
Former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has been out of work since his brief spell at Leicester City, but could now return to management with Forest’s biggest rivals.
Cooper was sacked by Forest in December 2023 when relegation from the Premier League looked a distinct possibility, with the move to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo evidently working out.
Some doubted the decision to sack Cooper at the time, but Stuart Pearce called the Espirito Santo appointment a masterstroke despite being initially sympathetic to the Welsh coach.
Partly due to the success of Espirito Santo at Forest, his predecessor’s reputation at the club has faltered slightly, evident when Chris Wood subtly criticised Cooper when discussing his incredible form at the City Ground this season.
Cooper still has a prominent place in Forest history regardless, but that could be at risk if he were to manage Derby County, which has become a possibility after The Rams sacked Paul Warne on Friday.
Derby County fans react to Steve Cooper being linked with manager vacancy
With Cooper’s recent history of getting Forest promoted to the Premier League, any job that comes up in the Championship whilst he is out of work will likely see him linked as one of the favourites, with the Derby role no exception.
Derby fans seem pretty keen on the idea of seeing Cooper in the dugout at Pride Park, taking to social media to voice their opinion on the potential appointment.
One Derby fan said: “Steve Cooper should absolutely be our first choice if he’s interested.” Another fan added: “Steve Cooper would keep us up but unsure how fans would feel about him.”
More Derby fans continued to back the idea of Cooper joining, with one saying: “Steve Cooper is best manager out there that we can get,” and another adding: “Steve Cooper would be my pick.”
One Derby fan felt strongly about the idea, saying: “Go and get Steve Cooper. Give him anything.” With another similarly adding: “Steve Cooper would be a good decision.”
Bizarrely, Cooper wouldn’t be the first manager to be in charge of both rival clubs, with Forest legend Brian Clough managing both teams in his illustrious coaching career.
Brian Clough managed both Nottingham Forest and Derby County
Before Clough was lifting consecutive European Cups with Forest, he was succeeding at rival club Derby, highlighting that Cooper’s reputation around the City Ground may not be tarnished too much.
Clough won the First Division with Derby in the 1971-72 season for the first time in the club’s then 88-year history, before resigning in October 1973 in the midst of a long-lasting feud with the Derby board.
The legendary manager would then take the Forest job in 1975, matching his single First Division success at Derby but also adding the miraculous consecutive European Cups in the 1978/79 and 1979/80 seasons respectively.
Forest fans sympathised with Cooper following his dismissal from Leicester which clearly showed that their love for him doesn’t depend on him being Forest manager. Like Clough, then, the Welshman would likely retain this adulation if he were to take on the Derby vacancy.
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