Nottingham Forest's players have come in for some criticism from Talksport pundit Simon Jordan, who has claimed the side could eventually 'cheat' new boss Steve Cooper.

The pundit has worked in football himself at Crystal Palace and has been quick to speak out about the change in results for Forest and their new manager.

The Championship outfit had a difficult start to the new season and found themselves struggling at the wrong end of the table. With results showing no signs of improving, the Forest board made the decision to part ways with then-boss Chris Hughton.

They've gone on to appoint Steve Cooper, who has seen a massive upturn in results. They looked a whole new team against Birmingham at the weekend as they beat the Blues 3-0 and they are now pushing further and further up the league.

At 17th, they're in a lot better shape now than they were but Jordan has warned the former Swansea boss that his new charges could eventually 'cheat' him.

 

 

Speaking on Talksport, he said: "You're in a territory of moving into an observation which suggests that the players were cheating the last manager, which is a charge that should be brought against the players.

"You're also into a territory of the manager, the previous manager, not being able to raise them to the level that they needed to be at. That's why you make the change. You made the change because Chris Hughton wasn't getting from these players what was required.

"If you looked at previous games, some of the results I saw, when the goalkeeper threw one in against someone like Middlesbrough, I think they got beat 3-0 at home, they were just shocking. They weren't playing for this manager.

"I think ultimately everybody is guilty of something. The Forest board are guilty of perhaps making the wrong decision with Chris Hughton in the first place, Chris Hughton making the wrong decision to join Nottingham Forest at this stage in his career and the players for not delivering on a reasonable level of expectation that put them bottom of the league.

"Steve Cooper will still have the same problem. If he's got a bunch of cheats in that dressing room prepared to cheat one manager, there will come a time when they're prepared to cheat him too."

Forest have certainly managed to turn things around so far and with the likes of Brennan Johnson and Lewis Grabban now fit and firing for the club, they can certainly begin to look upwards, regardless of what Jordan has claimed.

The Verdict

Forest are a much better outfit with Steve Cooper in charge - or at least they seem it so far - and with the performances they are putting in, they look much more likely to challenge for a promotion place instead of face relegation to the third tier.

Whatever happened at the club with Chris Hughton, nobody will know. The main thing that matters now to the club and its fans, regardless of any outside opinion, is that the team are now getting the results and performances that they need.

In the long-term, that is exactly whet they need if they want to try and get back up and into the Premier League.