Why Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper was 'reassured' after Preston stalemate

It might not have been the performance - or the result - he wanted, but Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper was pleased with the dressing room reaction of his players on Tuesday night.

A flat display saw the Reds struggle to get into the game at Preston North End, after a bright opening 10 minutes.

Still, they soaked up long spells of pressure and came away with a point in a 0-0 draw.

And Cooper says his squad are eager to prove they are better than they showed in midweek, when Bristol City come to the City Ground on Saturday.

“I don’t want to dwell on Tuesday night. It wasn’t a disaster. We don’t want to be negative about things when a lot of positive things are going on,” he said.

“We just want to strive to improve all the time.

“We could have nicked it in the last minute when Djed (Spence) got in down the side, and I still would have been saying the same thing.

“It’s not always about the result. We look at the performances as well, because I believe performances, and playing the way we want to play, if you get it right, earns you enough points to be where you want to be.

“We will always analyse performances, regardless of results, because we have a way of playing, so we’ve got something to compare it to.

“There were lots of things that we looked at that we liked, and there were certainly things we didn’t like.

“We’ve gone through it with the players, they always feed back and give their views as well. They care.

“I’m really pleased that some players have come off the pitch thinking, ‘I’m a better player than that’. They will want to play better in the next game.

“That’s a sign that reassures me. It shows we’re trying to set the right standards.

“I don’t want to paint a negative picture. We’re doing alright. We’ve