Nottingham Forest man has Derby County dig after play-off heartbreak | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest defender Steve Cook has poked fun at rivals Derby County after they failed to reach the play-offs in League One.

Derby fall short on final day

Paul Warne’s side went into the final day clash against Sheffield Wednesday knowing they would finish in the top six if they won. As it transpired, a draw would also have been enough, but the Rams fell to a 1-0 loss against the Owls, thanks to a Michael Smith penalty, which also saw Curtis Davies dismissed.

With Peterborough United winning at Barnsley, it meant Derby dropped to seventh, and they are now set for another year in the third tier.

As you would expect, sympathy for Derby was in short supply in Nottingham, with many Reds fans enjoying the Rams’ struggles. That included Cook, who took to Twitter to send the message, “Wait. Derby”, which was followed by two laughing emojis.

The centre-back played a key part in Forest’s promotion last season, but he has struggled for game time in the current campaign, and he failed to make the 25-man squad after the January window.

Forest are battling to stay in the Premier League this season, with Steve Cooper’s side currently in the relegation zone with four fixtures left to play. Therefore, Cook is likely to hear from Derby fans if they do drop down to the Championship after just one year back in the top-flight.

East Midlands rivalry is still going strong

Of course, Derby fans won’t like to be on the receiving end of this from Cook, but it’s nothing too serious, and it sums up what the East Midlands rivalry is all about. Even though the clubs are in different divisions, the animosity still exists and the vast majority of Forest supporters will have been delighted that Derby came up short on Sunday.

Similarly, for many Derby fans, there will be a hope that Forest are relegated as they won’t want to see their rivals doing well, that’s just how football is for many supporters. And, if that does happen, you can be sure that Cook is reminded of his comments here.

So, it’s all part of the banter that you get with rivals, but Derby’s failure to reach the play-offs does mean that we’re going to have to wait that little bit longer for the next East Midlands derby, when it did seem as though it could be on the cards for next season.