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Nottingham Forest are still a work in progress under Steve Cooper but I’m already convinced they will stay clear of the relegation battle this season.
Last year was all about staying up after they had waited so long to get back into the Premier League and, after a slow start, Forest were never very far from the bottom three.
You could feel the tension in the air because they had taken a massive gamble with the amount of money they spent to try to stay in the top flight – and they only secured their safety with one game to go.
Forest made a lot of signings after winning promotion and, as Chelsea are finding out at the moment, when you bring in that many players all at once, it can be a struggle to get instant results.
The way Forest improved as that campaign went on shows what a good job Cooper did when he was given time to bed everyone in and, crucially, he has continued the building process he started.
Forest added a lot of players to the group again this summer and they have made a much stronger start this season, especially away from home and against teams from the top of the table.
It is early days of course but, from what we have seen so far, they are definitely not one of the three worst teams in the Premier League. Mid-table is a realistic target because the whole bottom half seems weaker this season to me.
Forest have bought some good young players and itfeels like this period is an opportunity for them to really establish their style of play and integrate those new faces.
Cooper is still searching for a few bits and pieces, especially at the top end of the pitch, to guarantee more goals but, in time, I think that part will come too.
Christmas Day with Brian Clough
I was at the City Ground with MOTD2 for Sunday’s draw with Brentford and it brought back a lot of memories.
Forest was where it all started for me – I was with the club from the age of eight until I was 18 – and it’s mad how little the place has changed since I left for Newcastle more than 20 years ago.
It’s the club where I learned what it takes to be a footballer and going back reminded me of the days when I was trying to make my way in the game.
Where we filmed our links for the show was in front of the spot by the tunnel where I used to clean the first-team players’ boots as a kid, right next to where there used to be a small running track going around the pitch.
When I was 15, I was one of the few apprentices to live locally and the youth team manager Paul Hart brought me in on my own on Christmas Eve to do what was known as the 12-minute run, where you were given that amount of time to run two miles doing laps of that track.
Straight after I finished, Hart said to me, ‘Well done, you worked hard – see you tomorrow’. I was like, ‘You what?’ I didn’t realise he was testing me and trying to build my character.
When I got in on Christmas morning, it was just me and the kitman and there was a big pile of boots waiting for me, but I soon got a bit of a surprise.
I was stood there cleaning them on my own when the legendary Brian Clough turned up out of nowhere and came over and started talking to me.
He started off by saying ‘you’ve got a lot of work to do’ but he wasn’t just talking about the muddy boots. He had heard I was next in line to come through from the youth team and wanted to speak to me.
Forest fans always play their part
Standing there again took me right back to when I got Cloughie’s words of wisdom – and I loved it. I don’t get back here as much as I’d like to but the City Ground still feels like home.
I still know a lot of the stewards and security staff, so a lot of the faces I saw on Sunday were the same.
The fans haven’t changed either. Sunday was one of the dullest games I have watched this year but there was still a fantastic atmosphere.
I’d argue it’s got even better recently too. Even as a kid when I used to come to games it was always buzzing but something has happened in the past few years that has taken it to another level since my first spell as a player or when I came back for a brief loan a few years later.
Mull of Kintyre has been the club’s unofficial anthem since their European Cup-winning days but nowadays they pump it out before kick-off and it gets the whole ground going.
The City Ground is one of those places where, when I speak to current Premier League players and ask about Forest, a lot of them admit they turn up here and didn’t realise it was going to be so intense.
Credit for that has to go to the supporters but also to the manager and the way he has got Forest playing.
The fans can see the effort from the players and cheer every last ball – they are clearly with Cooper and his team all the way, as we saw when they were down to 10 men against Brentford.
Cooper has built a bond that cannot be broken
Cooper is in so much credit with the supporters because of what he has achieved since he took over two years ago.
I think we saw that last year when he came under a lot of pressure when Forest were struggling and the club were considering sacking him, but the fanbase were not having it.
He may not admit it himself but personally I think they saved Cooper’s job at that particular time because of the uproar on social media when there was speculation he might be on his way out.
The fans’ message was very clear – we are not going to allow you to sack the manager who has just got us into the Premier League after 23 years – and they have a bond with Cooper that is not going to be broken.
I can understand why. Even when the team is not playing particularly well, I am never worried about them lacking an identity because I know what Cooper is all about as a coach, from his days with the England Under-17s side and at Swansea too.
I know he wants to play the game a certain way and that he has brought in good footballers to do that. I feel like he tries to get more out of his players, to keep on improving them.
Serge Aurier is a good example of that, which is why I asked Cooper about him after Sunday’s game.
I watched Aurier a lot at Tottenham – it didn’t quite work out for him there for some reason – and he looks like a completely different person at Forest. Cooper has made him captain and, sometimes when you give players more responsibility, they show a different side to themselves.
From the way Cooper explained it to me, part of the way he manages is by doing that and letting go a little bit – a leadership quality in itself.
He has brought in a group of players from all over the world and in those situations it is easy for cliques to form in the dressing room, where you don’t get all of the players mixing together much. You often have to find that one individual who can gel it all together.
I was asked to do it at Spurs by Juande Ramos, who came to me and said he wanted me to be captain because the youngsters respected me and the older players listened to me. He saw me as being the right person to bed it all together.
Cooper obviously sees the same qualities in Aurier, who speaks numerous languages, and sees him as the right person to convey his messages – not just on the pitch but also about the culture he wants to instil at the club.
It’s the kind of thinking that got Forest into the Premier League in the first place – and it will hopefully keep them there too.
Jermaine Jenas was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
By Jermaine Jenas
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