‘We’re On The Right Path’ – Pre-Forest Thoughts From Cooper
After moving onto nine points and into 14th position in the early Premier League standings, following successive victories either side of the international break, City are settling back into life in the top flight.
Ahead of this week’s fixture, facing an in-form Nottingham Forest side at King Power Stadium on Friday evening, Cooper sat down with the media at LCFC Training Ground…
‘A good reward’
Reflecting on recent form, the Welshman felt his side were worthy of victory at St. Mary’s Stadium last time out, requiring a late goal to claim the points on the South Coast, having recovered from being two goals down at the break.
“I’m sure, with us being 2-0 down and winning 3-2, and scoring with more or less the last kick of the game, it painted the narrative and the headlines,” City’s Manager stated in his pre-match press conference. “But apart from a poor start, we were the better team.
“We played really well in the second half but weren’t far away from playing well in the first half after that initial start. We really liked large parts of how we played against Southampton, once the game settled. We were more than good for the win over the 90 minutes. You could see it as the game was going on and the stats endorsed that as well.
“That gave us back-to-back wins, which is a good reward for the players, first and foremost, because I see how hard they work and I see how committed they are to becoming the team that we want to be in the Premier League.
“There’s no better reward than winning and it’s great to win the last two games. To get one at home and one away – against Bournemouth we played well in the first half and showed a different side in the second half, really helped by our supporters to get over the line.”
‘Showing great signs’
One of only two teams to score in every game this season, Leicester have been defeated just once in their last five outings. However, given the relentless nature of the Premier League, no one in Seagrave is resting on their laurels, Cooper assured.
“We feel like we’re on the right path and journey and that includes the work ethic and the commitment to the plan,” he explained. “Everyone is working hard and is together. We have ideas about how we want to play but it’s also about how we work.
“We’ve showed great signs of resilience to come back and all these things are important in becoming a rounded team, which is what we want to be. I always want more, and there’s definitely more to give, but I feel we are improving all the time.
“Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don’t but at this level it’s hard to get it right a lot of the time, but that’s what we’re striving for. We’re very aware of some of the good things that we’re doing and I thought that even a few weeks ago when we hadn’t won a game.
“I knew we weren’t far away from progressing a little bit more. We’re pushing the guys to show them how we can improve and get better. They are so open-minded to learning and to taking on the challenge, which gives you the best opportunity to do that.
“Hopefully that continues but there will be ups and downs. We’ve got to keep believing in who we are and what we represent and bring it out on matchdays.”
'Focus on us'
Friday’s game sees Cooper’s former employers visit Filbert Way for the first time since City’s 4-0 victory over their East Midlands rivals in October 2022. Two years on, both sides are very different outfits, but the Foxes Manager is concentrating more on his own team.
“We can’t wait for Friday now and playing Forest,” he expressed. “It’s a local game but we’re just engrained with our progress and looking forward to progressing again and hopefully making it three wins in a row.
“We just analyse every opponent in terms of how we feel we can play in the game. Our focus has really been on us, especially being at home on Friday. We’re looking at our game and how we can implement our ideas.
“Every team we come up against have strengths and Forest will be no different. With Chris Wood, he’s a goalscorer in the team and to get there you need to create chances for him. They have good attacking players as well and athleticism.
“We’re aware of that, of course, and they have a good points return so far. But we are focusing on ourselves and the impact that we can have - that’s what has given us our best moments so far in all the games, when we are good at being us. That’s always going to have our main attention. You’ve got to back yourselves to be better than the opponent.”