Sabri Lamouchi came so close to leading Nottingham Forest to a play-off finish in 2019/20 falling at the final hurdle.

Since his departure at the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign the Reds had struggled to perform as well as they were under the Frenchman until Steve Cooper joined the club in September.

The Welshman has overseen a huge upturn in results and performances which has supporters daring to dream of a top six push with the gap currently standing at four points.

Lamouchi spoke highly of Cooper and his chances of achieving success at Forest when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: "He is perfect for the club. He understood immediately what needed to change. He saw that the system was wrong and he has the right one now.

"He has made a very good impact. But I hope for him that he has time and stability. If he has that, you never know what is possible. Maybe something special can happen this year; maybe it will be next season."

There are a lot of survivors still in the Forest squad that played a key role in their top six push in 2019/20, Brice Samba, Joe Worrall and Lewis Grabban in the spine of the team remain important players and will be fully believing that Cooper's methods can steer them towards the race.

The Verdict

It is warming to see that Lamouchi is still clearly a fan of the club despite being dismissed of his duties so unceremoniously last season.

Forest are a sleeping giant in the Championship and have the infrastructure and financial muscle to be competing towards the top end. With Cooper's nous, someone who has achieved a play-off finish in both of his seasons as a second tier manager, Forest appear to be in the best place they have been on and off the pitch in a long while.

Lamouchi has managed Al Duhail in Qatar since departing the City Ground having produced a strong single season in the Championship, gaining plenty of admirers for a potential return.