Why Steve Cooper is pleased he doesn't have 'a perfect happy camp' at Nottingham Forest

It is “not a perfect happy camp” at Nottingham Forest as the season reaches a crunch period - but boss Steve Cooper is pleased with that.

It means he is having to make tough selection decisions which involve leaving good players out of his starting line-up, and even out of his matchday squad.

Cooper says he has a group who are all desperate to get out on the pitch at the business end of the campaign, with the Reds pushing for a place in the top six.

But every week some face disappointment at having to settle for a spot on the bench or watch from the sidelines, in testament to the strength in depth Forest have.

“It’s not a perfect happy camp, and nor should it be, because there are always players who find themselves on the wrong end of decisions,” Cooper told NottinghamshireLive.

“Every player wants to play.

“For me, there’s never a happy camp, because it’s impossible to keep everyone happy unless you only have 11 players.

“But I don’t want a happy camp. I want a thriving one, I want a good atmosphere and a good environment, but let’s just remember, this needs to be a high-performing centre.

“You want an elite environment, and to do that, it needs to be challenging and it needs to be demanding. That starts with me, in what we put on the players.

“There’s nothing wrong with being demanding of players. And they’ve got to get it from themselves and each other as well.

“If it was a happy camp, I’d probably be a bit worried.”

Cooper has generally stuck with a settled side throughout his time in charge at the City Ground, making very few changes between games.

He spoke after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Bristol City about the “difficult conversation” required to tell midfielder Ryan Yates he was being left out of the XI on that