Steve Cooper refusing to discuss automatic promotion after Forest victory

Steve Cooper refused to discuss the prospect of chasing down Bournemouth for second place in the Championship after a 2-0 win over Birmingham helped Nottingham Forest close the gap to six points.

Forest are now unbeaten in 10 Championship games and have won five in a row, after goals from Keinan Davis and Scott McKenna propelled them to another success.

But despite seeing his side climb into third place, Cooper maintained the same mantra that he has done all season – by insisting that nobody within the Forest ranks would be allowed to look beyond the trip to face play-off rivals Luton next Friday.

“We have to go to Luton and not look any further beyond that. We have the chance now to recharge and go into another two games in four days,” said Cooper, when asked if Forest could catch the Cherries – who they are still to face on the south coast in their remaining games – and push for automatic promotion.

“We will not look any further than Luton. I will not look at anything else. We will focus on the things we are in control of. Our recovery, our preparation and our performance against Luton.

“The rest of it is just motivation, that is all. We keep our heads down, we work hard and we prepare for another game next weekend.”

Forest followed up on a thumping 4-1 win at Blackpool and a 2-0 home success over Coventry, by taking the lead after only five minutes, as Davis capped off a powerful run with a precise, angled finish.

Their second came 11 minutes from the end, when McKenna attacked a precise James Garner corner.

“People tell me that we had never won three games on the bounce after an international break so that was a challenge we gave to the players before the game,” said Cooper.

“I think we have been good for what we