‘The manager gave us belief’: how Steve Cooper transformed Forest

With one half of Wembley empty and the other delirious at restoring old rivalries in the Premier League next season, the Nottingham Forest captain, Joe Worrall, kissed a cardboard cutout of Steve Cooper flanked by Steve Cook, a shrewd free transfer in January, and the likable midfielder Joe Lolley.

By this point the actual Forest manager, club scarf around his shoulders, was in between catching his son in his arms and punching the air three times in front of supporters, as has become tradition after victories, a celebration he repeated on Monday before the thousands who congregated in the city’s Old Market Square. But moments after victory Cooper retreated to the dugout, covered his face with his hands and afforded himself a few quiet seconds to digest everything that had happened.

Forest are back in the top flight for the first time since 1999. Cooper’s black polo shirt was drenched in champagne from his players ambushing a pitchside interview and tears pooled in his eyes when he touched on the pride of seeing more than 36,000 Forest fans bask in promotion in the west end of the stadium, becoming the fifth and final league team to be allocated that side of the ground and secure victory this season, from Leicester City in the Community Shield in August to Port Vale in the League Two playoff final last Saturday. “Persistent standing is not permitted,” were the words displayed on the big screens before kick-off but that message soon fell on deaf ears as supporters savoured a remarkable season that began with Forest making their worst start since 1913.

For Cooper, the October international break which Forest went into fresh from his third game, a 3-0 win at Birmingham, was an opportunity to drum his methods into his squad