Nottingham Forest hand head coach Steve Cooper fresh contract until 2025

Nottingham Forest have given head coach Steve Cooper a new contract until 2025.

Cooper’s position was reportedly under pressure with Forest bottom of the Premier League after eight games, but the club have decided to put their faith in the former Swansea boss.

Forest also appointed Filippo Giraldi as their new sporting director earlier this week.

Cooper guided Forest to promotion from the Championship through the play-offs last season, but has overseen a complete makeover of the squad over the summer with 23 signings arriving.

After claiming four points from their opening three games, Forest’s new-look side have lost five games in a row.

A 4-0 defeat at rivals Leicester on Monday has left them bottom of the table.

Does spending increase survival chances?

Sky Sports’ Adam Smith

Forest sit rock bottom of the league table with four points from eight games and a goal difference of -15. Leicester have the third-worst differential with -8, and the Foxes thrashed Forest 4-0 on Monday.

So it might come as a surprise Forest tied Cooper down with a three-year extension when there was growing speculation suggesting the club could pull the trigger on him.

Most promoted sides would be expected to be among the relegation places, but the £157.3m summer spending spree has heaped added pressure on the manager to deliver – with his outlay surpassed only by Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham and Tottenham.

In fact, Forest’s spending sets a new record for summer transfer expenditure after winning promotion to the Premier League – surpassing Aston Villa’s £152.7m splurge in 2019/20.

The graphic below lists each promoted club’s outlay since 1995/96 and reveals a link between investment and survival come the end of the season – with eight out of nine previous teams to have spent in excess of £49m retaining top-tier status come May.

Indeed, all of those eight teams registered 35 points or more, with Leeds clocking 59 after a £106m summer spend in 2020/21, but Ipswich actually hold the record for the most points won in the Premier League after promotion – shelling out £8.6m and winning 66 points in 2000/01.

So while evidence suggests Forest’s investment should secure survival, the club needed to sign players on permanent contracts to replace a raft of expired loan deals.

In addition, Forest’s overhaul of 23 new recruits was unprecedented. The previous record for a promoted club was 14 signings, set by Norwich in 2021/22.

Arguably, the unsettling overhaul and financial outlay have been mitigated by the necessity to do so, and Cooper reiterated the need to bed his recruits in after the bruising defeat at the King Power – and it appears the club’s hierarchy agree.

Nottingham Forest’s upcoming fixtures Monday 10th October 7:00pm Kick off 8:00pm

October 10: Aston Villa (H) – kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports

October 15: Wolves (A) – kick-off 3pm

October 18: Brighton (A) – kick-off 7.30pm

October 22: Liverpool (H) – kick-off 12.30pm

October 30: Arsenal (A) – kick-off 2pm