After his sides 1-1 draw with Aston Villa ex Swansea and now Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper fired a missive that can only be perceived as towards the swans in his post match interview. It’s a bit odd he would mention such matters in the glow of a point earned against Steve Gerrard’s Villa, especially when talking about his contract at the city ground.

Cooper felt the recent issues regards his contract at Forest wasn’t about him but about him being happy with the bigger picture now he is manager at Nottingham Forest. He stated it wasn’t just about him. Then said “The supporters have been incredible with me, and I’m really grateful to it. In terms of the contract I’ve never been one to worry, I am just not a guy who thinks about my personal situation, especially at this football club because you know the the greats” Referencing a previous contract and him being more concerned about his own situation, which really does beg the question as to what he was referring to a smiling Cooper said. “Well maybe there was one in the past” Cooper went on to say he never really cared about himself. So, why say it ?

Cooper left the swans under a bit of a cloud with many questions left unanswered, and when Alan Tate went after that he said “There’s a lot more I can say” It leaves the whole matter somewhat open to interpretation especially with unqualified comments.

We exclusively reported that here –> Cooper in ultimatum talks

That meeting was literally two days after the Brentford loss at Wembley. There was at that point a problem with how much money Cooper wanted to stay at Swansea, and how much the club were prepared to give him. Plus how much money he would have to spend. As we’ve seen this summer he likes a few quid to play with, so that comment for us is a clear reference to him looking after himself in contract talks.

But it seems odd it still brews away in the back of his mind. He’s hardly had many contracts, and when he left Swansea he hadn’t had any other agreement than the one he signed when he came to the club. Surely wouldn’t be running down the Forest owner would he ? It’s pretty obvious when you think about it.

Swansea City of course lifted Cooper from absolute obscurity to allow him to successfully inspire Swansea City to believe a return to the premier league was possible. The club did the same for Graham Potter, now at Chelsea in the champions league, Brendan Rodgers the same, who went on to manage Liverpool, Celtic and currently Leicester City. We could stretch back to Roberto Martinez now an international manager at Belgium, hardly an easy job. We could also say the same for Paulo Sousa who went on to manage Poland post Swansea. Now we have Russell Martin, he won’t be a failure as a football manager and coach either.

There is no other club in Wales who can boast such a successful production line of success.

It’s not a snipe, but Wales have never produced in the history of the game such a successful batch of football managers. Cooper was identified as a quality coach by Swansea City but made such a gamble on him to be able to step up from managing kids to a team who just over one season previously were a premier league side. His contract wasn’t brilliant when he came to Swansea, it was pretty poor so you can understand why Cooper is a bit miffed. The improved offer in June (2021) which was the catalyst for his leaving was better but still it didn’t reflect what he had done at Swansea to date.

So why would there be such an odd comment about contracts, and then introduce his personal issues in to the mixer when talking about his own circumstances sixteen months later Cooper is a young man who has and will almost certainly become an even more successful manger in association football. Potter the same and Rodgers is an open book, he was well over tenth choice when he came to Swansea.What would you do ? Stay managing seventeen year olds at England after looking after even younger kids at Liverpool or walk in to a dressing room with seasoned professionals like Andre Ayew ?

This website contains numerous articles on Steve Cooper, his progression through the football ranks as a visionary coach constantly referenced and never undermined. However, of all the people to walk through the Swansea City corridors and let’s not forget Bruno Lage who went on to manage another premier league side in Wolves, those comments tonight need explaining. We agree as well that Alan Tate was hardly treated well before he left the swans to become Cooper’s right hand man, but why would Cooper be so cryptic in his words ?

Even though Cooper has signed a new contract and fans of Forest know nothing of the intricate details of that latest move for him to say this has a smack of desperation. "It allows me to talk about how much this job means to me, how much this club means to me and the supporters, and also gives me a chance to say how determined I am to succeed," he says passionately about the news. "You don't just want to succeed in good moments - if you really love who you work for, you want to succeed through difficult periods."

For us here today that tells us how desperate an employee of any club can be to protect their own interests and stay in pole position. Steve Cooper is an incredible coach, and really is a product of some real visionary due diligence by Swansea City FC. But there surely has to be an explanation as to why such throw away comments would be made. In effect of course he is entitled to say what he likes, but close the door Steve, that time at the club that made you has gone.

Just remember where you came from is a saying many people forget. And it’s really disappointing that this editorial would reflect such poor form from a man who when he came to Swansea could only be described as ‘Steve Who’ ?

Think about it.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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