Former Nottingham Forest boss tipped for Premier League return

Former Nottingham Forest boss tipped for Premier League return

Former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper could be handed a chance to become the next manager of Crystal Palace with the pressure building on Roy Hodgson after the 5-0 defeat against Arsenal.

Steve Parish, the boss of Crystal Palace, is considering replacing Hodgson and the former Reds boss is thought to be a front-runner alongside ex-Wolves head coach Julen Lopetegui.

Despite a poor run of form, Parish would prefer to keep Hodgson until the end of the season. However, after the Arsenal defeat, the momentum looks to be going against the former England boss.

Speaking after the drubbing, Hodgson said: “That’s a question for them, isn’t it? But if you’re asking me if I’ve ever felt a lack of support from them, then the answer is no.”

Graham Potter, the former Brighton and Chelsea boss, was spotted at the Emirates, sparking rumours. However, his notes could have been as simple as a shopping list. The poor performance of Palace has led many to call for a new manager.

“I think they’ve been good, but I mean now in [the] situation that you’re obviously discussing, in this scenario you’re envisaging, that’s going to be a question for them.” Hodgson later said: “When a team isn’t doing as well as it should be doing, someone needs to be held responsible, and that’s the manager.”

Hodgson acknowledged the frustration of the Palace fans, saying: “All I can say is I think they are totally entitled to their opinion in that respect. I do understand their frustration, even anger and disappointment, and things haven’t gone better.”

“We can make our excuses which we’ve been doing because certain things have worked against us in this period of time, but the bottom line is that if we’re going to go forward and avoid relegation and do well, we need those fans with us. Hopefully we can do our best to keep them on board.”

Palace struggled to pose an attacking threat at Arsenal. The upcoming home game with Sheffield United, who are currently last in the league, will be crucial. Team captain Marc Guehi admitted: “We need to find a way of getting ourselves out of a rut.”

“We have got a lot of quality. We just need to come together as a collective and as a group and be determined to make things better, and that all starts on the training pitch. It’s important that we bounce back from this – that is the only thing that we can do.”

Cooper still has plenty of credit left in the bank having taken a struggling Forest team in the Championship to Premier League promotion in 2022. He also kept the Reds up in their first top-flight campaign for 23 years last season.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.