Steve Cooper urges Nottingham Forest to do better after disappointing loss to Man Utd

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has urged his side to improve after their 2-0 loss to Manchester United today.

He was unhappy at the lack of composure and quality Forest showed in the loss at The City Ground.

Forest barely threatened United apart from on set-pieces, and the manager labelled the game disappointing.

Goals from Antony and Diogo Dalot helped the Red Devils secure victory. Man United created more chances and dominated the game.

The defeat leaves Forest 18th in the Premier League and facing the prospect of relegation. They have not won any of their last ten games.

Cooper said (via Forest’s official website): “We knew we were going to have a really tough game today as they have some really good players.

“With the ball, I did not think we looked after the first pass well enough, and you can see that for the first goal in particular.

“Tactically, the guys stuck to the plan, but we needed to show better quality and more composure because when we did, we got into some half-decent areas.”

Despite the result, Cooper said his side did well tactically and stuck to the initial plan. He acknowledged that they needed to do more to win games at this level.

Cooper refused to question the passion and desire of his players. He said their commitment to the cause was there for all to see.

The upcoming fixtures do not get easier as their next game is a trip to Liverpool on Saturday before hosting in-form Brighton & Hove Albion.

Cooper’s side must start winning games soon to salvage their season. They have seven games to secure their stay in the top flight or sink back to the Championship.