‘It’s no surprise’ – Swansea defender Ryan Manning makes Steve Cooper, Nottingham Forest claim | OneFootball

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Football League World

·9 December 2021

‘It’s no surprise’ – Swansea defender Ryan Manning makes Steve Cooper, Nottingham Forest claim

Article image:‘It’s no surprise’ – Swansea defender Ryan Manning makes Steve Cooper, Nottingham Forest claim

Swansea City defender Ryan Manning has labelled Steve Cooper “a really good coach” and claimed it is no surprise that he is flourishing at Nottingham Forest.

Cooper took the Swans to the play-offs in both of his seasons at the helm but left in the summer and took charge at the City Ground after the sacking of Chris Hughton in September.


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The 25-year-old coach will return to South Wales to take on his former club for the first time on Saturday, with both sides aiming to continue to close the gap on the play-off places.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Manning – who Cooper brought to the Swansea.com Stadium in October 2020 – opened up on his former coach and his strong start to life at Forest.

He said: “I think any manager that gets a team to the play-offs two years on the spin is obviously doing things right.

“Last season we got to the play-off final, we were 90 minutes away from the Premier League.

“You have to look back on that as a really successful season, even though it was not the ending you would want.

“He is obviously a really good coach, a really good manager. He is able to get results in the Championship and he has done really well over the past few seasons, so it’s no surprise that he is doing well at Forest as well.”

The Swans sit 14th, one place and one point back from Forest in the table, and will be hoping to make up some ground on the top six in what is a busy festive period.

Things took a little while to click under Cooper’s replacement Russell Martin but the Welsh club are now seven points back from the play-off places and will likely be eyeing a late-season push.

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The Verdict

Cooper’s return to South Wales is an intriguing one, not least because both sides are looking to climb up the table after slow starts to the campaign.

Manning’s comments suggest that the Swansea squad has a huge amount of respect for their former coach and for good reason given his outstanding record during his time there.

His departure so close to the start of the season means that the fanbase may not be as forgiving and it’s going to be very interesting to see what sort of reception he gets on Saturday.

You’d imagine they may be some boos from the Jack Army, particularly if Cooper’s new side come out on top.

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