Forest’s away form must improve, says boss Steve Cooper

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper says his side’s poor Premier League away form is a hot topic of discussion among his squad.

Forest have picked up just six points on their travels this season, compared to 19 at the City Ground, with their solitary win coming against Southampton at the start of the year.

If the Reds can start to pick up some more points on the road to supplement their fine home form they could be looking at a comfortable mid-table finish and Cooper says his side are not shying away from the matter.

“It is something I will always openly talk about as one of the things we need to improve on,” he said ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Ham.

“If you don’t you are shirking away from the demands of what the Premier League is. It’s no secret and I don’t want any elephants in the room, our away from is something that needs to improve.

“I am talking about it more with the players and they are with each other more than I am with you guys. It is something we really want to turn around and we need to turn it around.

“We have an opportunity, like every away game, to improve it and we have focus and commitment in doing that.”

Some teams could be tempted to make changes to their preparation in order to get different results, but Cooper does not think anything drastic is required.

“It is not like we are going to do something completely different because we are playing an away game, there is always context to any game,” he added.

“Who you are playing, the time of the season and with an away game their is extra context, travel and stadium and all that sort of stuff.

“There are not a few things in particular that we are focusing on but sticking to our plan and trying to improve on it away from home. That is as simple as it is.

“Let’s not make it too complicated.”