Steve Cooper issues play-offs message as Nottingham Forest prepare for Sheffield United clash

A 1-1 draw at Hull City on Saturday saw Nottingham Forest finish fourth in the Championship to set up a play-off semi final tie against Sheffield United.

The newly relegated Blades cemented their spot in the top six with a 4-0 win over champions Fulham and will be raring to go in preparing to host Steve Cooper’s Reds in the first leg of the semi final.

Cooper has been involved in the second tier play-offs in all three of his seasons in senior management and the Welshman was bullish about Forest’s chances of promotion when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: “Play-offs are brilliant and unique.

“We will believe in ourselves and we will back ourselves.

“We are really, really looking forward to it.

“It has been a brilliant season, but we go into this even more motivated.

“Succeeding in life is about taking your opportunity; about seizing the moment.”

In 2019/20 Swansea City were knocked out by Brentford at the semi final stage, and Thomas Frank got the better of Cooper with the Swans in the final last season, with the Bees no longer involved the Reds are favourites with the bookmakers to make their long awaited return to the Premier League.

The Verdict

This Forest side already feels more memorable than the Swansea ones that narrowly missed out in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Though they were painful, Cooper’s losses with Swansea will certainly give him something extra heading into the play-offs, after putting together an incredible run since taking over early on in the season.

The Reds may only be able to convince a lot of the current squad to stay on for next season if they win promotion, meaning the futures of Brennan Johnson, Djed Spence and others may be on the line, adding further context to the gripping play-off uncertainty.

T