Steve Cooper demands more from Forest as they move into play-off places

Steve Cooper demanded yet more from his Nottingham Forest players despite a 2-0 win over Coventry lifting his side into the play-off places.

Brennan Johnson’s 15th of the season and a well-taken strike from James Garner, either side of half-time, secured a fourth consecutive Championship win for Forest.

But they did not have it all their own way and Coventry might have taken something from the game had they made more of their own chances.

Cooper has told his players they cannot rest on their laurels as they head into their final eight games.

“It was a really important win, that is the headline for me. It was a challenging game, tactically. They way they set up does really test you positionally,” said Cooper.

“I know Coventry are a rival, but I have a lot of respect for the way they play and the way they have stuck to that, over the years. They test you.

“We had to be positionally right and, in general, we were. But we turned the ball over too much in the first half, we did not make enough passes and took too many touches, so we never got fluidity. When we did, the goals were excellent.

“Brennan did excellent in a manic moment, showing great composure for the first goal. I thought we were better in the second half and created enough good moments to get the second goal. We saw out a challenging game fairly comfortably.

“It was an important win, with some really good bits – and some things we need to address. A clean sheet, two goals… there were loads of positives. But I am always going to want more.”

Coventry boss Mark Robins felt that the finishing power of Forest made the difference, as his side suffered a fourth game without a win to deal a blow to their own play-off hopes.

“I don’t think we were unlucky, it was that we