Derby County legend delivers frank verdict on Nottingham Forest following Liverpool clash

Former Derby County winger Alan Hinton was full of praise for another one of his old sides in arch-rivals Nottingham Forest after yesterday evening’s clash with Liverpool, saying Steve Cooper’s men have a bright future as he took to Twitter.

The hosts at the City Ground lost out to Jurgen Klopp’s men as Diogo Jota’s 78th-minute strike proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night, though the Championship club put in an admirable shift as they had their own chances to win the tie.

Already overcoming the likes of Arsenal and Leicester City on their FA Cup journey, they may be disappointed not to have made it to Wembley with the Reds falling at the last hurdle.

However, they can take a lot of credit from this run and it has been symbolic of their progress under current boss Cooper, sitting at the bottom of the table at the time of his arrival but now have a real chance of securing a place in the play-offs.

And with the likes of Brennan Johnson and Joe Worrall still at their disposal despite Premier League interest, they look set to have a positive future regardless of which division they are in during the coming years.

Former Forest and Derby winger Hinton is one of those thinking along the same lines, commending the Reds for their efforts as they bowed out in the last eight.

He posted: “Watched a wonderful performance by Forest and had several fairly easy opportunities. A very good entertaining game. Forest fans superb.

“Future very bright and well deserved. Liverpool could have lost this.”

The Verdict:

Although Hinton achieved a great deal in his career, his biggest life achievement must be the fact he’s liked by both Forest and Derby supporters!

The 79-year-old is completely right though, because Forest