Forest boss Cooper responds to ousting of club captain after ‘painful night’ at Fulham | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper.

Boss Steve Cooper insists his Nottingham Forest players must prove they are hurting after their Fulham thumping and insists there is a way back for ousted club captain Joe Worrall.

They were dismantled 5-0 at Craven Cottage on Wednesday and go to Wolves on Saturday.

Defeat, a fourth straight Premier League loss, increased the pressure on Cooper – with ex-Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui, who has remained in the UK since leaving Molineux in the summer, a contender to succeed him.

Forest have won just once in their last 11 games and Cooper knows they face a battle to recover.

“It’s obviously a very low point and it was a painful night. There’ll be a lot of negativity thought about it, and rightly so,” he said.

“Within that negativity, challenging moments always provide opportunities. The opportunity we have now is to show the supporters that we do care, it wasn’t acceptable and we’re desperate to put it right.

“We’ve got to do everything we can to give something back to the supporters, to those who were there, the ones who were watching on TV, listening on the radio or following wherever they were.”

Mid-table Wolves are unbeaten in their last five outings at Molineux while Forest are 16th, four points above the bottom three.

Cooper also hinted there is an opening for out-of-favour club captain Joe Worrall after the defeat.

Worrall has not been training with the first team, in terms of their match preparation, but Cooper did not rule out a return for the centre-back.

“There’s a way back for everyone,” he told a press conference. “I think this is a time now where players, staff and myself have a real opportunity to show up, in terms of character and willingness to do whatever it takes to put (the defeat) right.

“It’s not about one player or member of staff, it’s about everybody showing togetherness and real fight.”