Written off as relegation fodder earlier in the season, Nottingham Forest head to London for Saturday’s Premier League clash at Fulham as the form team in the division and pulling away from the bottom three.
But manager Steve Cooper says there is plenty of hard work left if Forest’s return to the top flight after a 23-year absence is not to be a short one.
His side are unbeaten in the league since the turn of the year and have racked up 11 points from five games.
They took their new signings this season to 29 in the January transfer window with former Real Madrid keeper Keylor Navas joining on loan from Paris St Germain and impressing on his debut in a 1-0 win over Leeds United.
Victory at Fulham would lift Forest to within touching distance of the top half of the table, a remarkable turnaround from October when they hit rock bottom after a 4-0 defeat by Leicester City made it five reverses in a row.
“We’re only thinking about the next game, we’re playing for wins and playing for points and our focus is on how we win and how we get the points that we want,” Cooper told reporters.
“There’s a lot of work going on to get everything to the level we want to be at, whether it’s playing style, culture and togetherness in the group and we’re always working towards that.
“We’ve enjoyed the points that we’ve picked up so far and really thought about what it has taken to get them results in this league because no win comes easy.”
Forest’s attack has been bolstered by the arrival of Andre Ayew as a free agent, linking up with Cooper with whom he thrived at Swansea City after he left Al Sadd.
“I mean he was hard on me in a good way – like pushing me to do better; looking at my stats and wanting more. He pushes me to be a better player and to push the other players,” Ayew said.
“It’s great to be back working with the boss, and at this historic club. It’s a great feeling.”
Forest could also have deadline day signing Jonjo Shelvey available for the trip to Fulham after a calf injury ruled him out against Leeds.
“Already, in some of the exercises, he’s shown his quality,” Cooper said of the midfielder signed from Newcastle United.
“Jonjo isn’t new to the Premier League and is a well-known player, but he’ll still want to get involved as quickly as he can and show his quality. We want the same.”
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