sport news Nottingham Forest news: The inside story of dead man walking Steve Cooper's new ... trends now
It's been quite a return to the Premier League for Nottingham Forest who certainly haven't gone about their business quietly since earning promotion from the Championship back in May.
In fact since winning the play-off final and reclaiming their spot in the top flight for the first time 23 years, there has hardly been a dull day for Steve Cooper's side.
It's not all gone to plan either - in fact most of it hasn't - with Forest now bottom of the league after suffering a 4-0 defeat at Leicester despite a summer where they signed 22 players with an outlay of £150million.
Steve Cooper was handed a shock new three-year deal as Nottingham Forest boss on Friday
Cooper is a favourite among fans after guiding them back into the Premier League for the first time in 23 years after winning the Championship play-off final back in May
Yet an incredible week that seemed to start with Cooper under pressure has ended with the fan-favourite penning his name to a stunning three-year contract despite huge concerns over his future prior to his deal being announced on Friday.
A week ago there was already concerns high up at Forest over Cooper's tenure and intermediaries working on the club's behalf were sounding out potential replacements for the Welshman.
Rafa Benitez was among the names thrown in but the Spaniard was holding out for a better placed club. Xabi Alonso was another big name discussed via intermediaries but he has since taken charge at German side Bayer Leverkusen.
Rafa Benitez (left) and Xabi Alonso were both considered to replace Cooper at the City Ground
Forest slumped to the bottom of the table on Monday after a 4-0 loss at rivals Leicester City
To complicate matters, owner Evangelos Marinakis wasn't even convinced of sacking his manager. On the contrary, he was considering whether to offer Cooper, still popular with fans despite their poor start, a new contract amid rumoured interest from Southampton.
With one win and a draw from the opening seven Premier League games, Marinakis met Cooper for dinner on Saturday evening in a Knightsbridge hotel and tried to get an understanding of what was going wrong given the huge investment placed into the club during the summer.
He underlined the importance of Monday's game with Leicester in what was not just a fierce East Midlands derby but also against the only side below them in the table who had yet to win this term.
Marinakis, wary of what was going wrong with his investment, considered another appointment, one of a sporting director to help audit the senior football positions at the club.
Come Monday night, the owner and his son Miltiadis Marinakis, who has played a key role in some of Forest's signings, watch on as the goals fly in for Leicester. Staff behind the scenes at Forest were left convinced at the end of the game that Cooper was to be sacked. A meeting called for Tuesday morning did little to banish that notion.
Many staff were convinced Cooper would depart after the defeat as he waves to supporters following the full time whistle at the King Power Stadium
Meanwhile, Cooper told the media he was not thinking about his own position but underlined the challenges facing the players.
Forest's band of new signings have failed to take them to a greater level this term
He said:
