Brennan Johnson takes the plaudits as Nottingham Forest hammer Blackpool

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper praised Brennan Johnson’s attitude after his double helped them to a stunning 4-1 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Johnson’s brace – the second of which came after a dreadful goalkeeping error from Dan Grimshaw – and efforts from Philip Zinckernagel and Sam Surridge handed the visitors the points.

And Cooper praised the Welshman’s impact on the side after returning from international duty in midweek.

He said: “I didn’t say anything to Brennan but I think when he’s come back from international duty in recent times, he’s took a little bit to get going.

“I felt it was interesting to see how he did, and he was excellent – his whole approach to playing for the team and the contribution that he makes.”

Johnson’s first came when he drilled the ball into the far corner from 12 yards on 31 minutes to give them a 2-0 lead, after Zinckernagel’s deflected opener.

And the winger became Forest’s top scorer for the season – with 14 goals – when he capitalised on Grimshaw’s wayward pass and dinked a delightful finish into the far corner.

Cooper also praised the returning Scott McKenna, who recovered from injury to start at the centre of defence.

The manager said: “He really committed to his recovery in the international break, and with us not having any games we could put our full attention on him to see what we could do.

“He hasn’t had any time off and he really wanted to play. Everyone knows how well Scott’s done for us this year.”

The visitors put the seal on the three points when substitute Surridge finished ruthlessly into the bottom corner on 81 minutes.

Forest have now suffered just one defeat in 12 and look in ominous form amid a playoff push going into the business end of the season.