Nottingham Forest man Died Spence has heaped the praise on his new manager Steve Cooper, telling Nottinghamshire Live he is a 'good manager and a great guy.'

The midfielder is currently on loan at the Championship side from their fellow second tier side Middlesbrough. Having played for his parent club in 70 games so far (and notching up two goals), the side decided to let him leave the club on a short-term basis.

Now at Forest, he has already become a first-team regular. With eight games under his belt, he's already bagged a goal and has featured frequently on the right for the club. In their last game against Birmingham, he helped fire his side to a superb 3-0 win and there's no question that there has been a huge upturn in fortunes for everyone at the club since Steve Cooper took over.

 

 

Now, the 21-year old loanee has spoken out about his new manager and has been quick to praise the former Swansea man for the work he has done so far in getting the club back on top in games.

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, he said: "He wants us to stick together, that was his message when he came in. He said some personal things. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say what, but he set some personal goals for us - where we should be in a certain amount of time.

"He set us short, personal goals. Hopefully we can achieve them. If we do, it’s going to be good.

"He (Cooper) is a good manager and a great guy. He knows what he wants to do, and he has implemented it on the training pitch.

“He hasn’t been here for long, but my first impressions are that he is a good coach."

Since Cooper has taken the reigns, Forest have risen higher up the table and although they aren't out of the woods yet and are only just above the relegation places, they're certainly in much better form than they were under Chris Hughton.

The Verdict

Spence has looked solid since making the move on loan to the City Ground and since Steve Cooper has taken over, the player has appeared to be even livelier.

The midfielder even bagged a goal in his last fixture and it's no wonder he is now praising his new boss, as he does appear to have each player back playing to their best and climbing up the table.

There's plenty of time left in the season though, so we'll have to see as the season progresses whether he can keep it up.

If these early showings or anything to go on though, then Forest fans can begin to look up rather than down.