Steve Cooper hails Nottingham Forest as ‘a magical football club’ after securing promotion

Jubilant boss Steve Cooper welled up with tears as he tried to describe the pride he felt to be part of Nottingham Forest’s return to the Premier League.

‘It’s a magical football club and we’ve just reminded the world of that,’ said Cooper after his Forest team squeezed past Huddersfield in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

‘We’ve been desperate for something like this and I’ve felt it in the last eight or nine months. I’m really proud of everybody connected with the club. It isn’t about individual success. It’s about the club.

‘You cannot have a club with this support and this sense of belonging and it be about individuals. I knew it before I came but when I walked in, the biggest thing that struck me was how proud these people are of their club. 

‘I’m just delighted the Nottingham Forest supporters can say, “Yes, this is my football club and we’re in the Premier League”.’ 

Forest scored late in the first half, an own goal by Levi Colwill, Huddersfield’s teenage defender on loan from Chelsea, and fought hard to protect their lead as they came under pressure in the second half. 

Cooper praised the attitude that his Forest players have shown throughout the campaign

‘I don’t apologise for not a perfect performance,’ said Cooper, who took over in September with the club languishing in the relegation zone. 

‘It was probably a typical play-off final. They were deep and had to be careful of counter attacks and set pieces. I know the goal was a scruffy one, although it was a good ball in.

‘But it’s been a brilliant season in terms of attitude and culture. Such pride and togetherness. It’s such a nostalgic, brilliant, massive club that everybody knows.

But the Forest boss admitted that his side’s performance in the play-off final wasn’t perfect

‘I’m just pleased to be part of the journey that’s got us back to the Premier League and we deserve it, the football we’ve played, the goals we’ve scored, the stats, the clean sheets. We are worthy of promotion.’

Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan said: ‘It’s difficult because we wanted to come here and be celebrating promotion. 

‘If I analyse the game, I cannot criticise many things because the team performed really well. Forest had one chance and they scored.’