Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper looks on the Reds’ summer transfer window business in the latest Nottingham Forest news. As they attempt to help some of their new arrivals acclimate, Nottingham Forest have an excellent model for how to integrate players into the Premier League.
The Reds’ summer purchasing binge resulted in the addition of several newcomers to English football. Head coach Steve Cooper has previously stated that it will take time for certain players to settle in and for the club to gel.
Midfielder Ibrahim Sangare had a shaky debut in Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Burnley, while Sevilla loanee Gonzalo Montiel endured an evening to forget on his first start for the Reds. The likes of young defender Murillo and former Bologna midfielder Nicolas Dominguez are yet to feature, while Forest are treading carefully with teenage Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos.
But if any of them need an example of what can be achieved with time and patience, they need only look to teammate Danilo. The Brazilian took a while to settle following his January move from Palmeiras but soon went on to shine in the Garibaldi. And Cooper is using him as a “case study” for how to manage his latest set of recruits.
“You try to understand every player, how they learn and how they want to do their work. But time and opportunity in games is the main thing,” he said.
“Danilo is a really good example. We really like Danilo and think he has high potential. He’s got a real chance of having a big impact in this country – as he already has for us. But he needed a real programme when he first came.
“Before he got injured, he was flourishing at the level. But if you think about when he first came in, you could see him thinking it was a little bit quick.
“But we could see what he was like in training. It was only a matter of time before it was the right time to put him back in. That’s just a recognition of what players need.
“You don’t always get it right; you get a lot of things wrong as well.” But you’re always trying to manage a player’s circumstances and provide them with the proper program, the right opportunity, at the right moment.
“Danilo has been an excellent case study for us. We’ve got Murillo and Andrey here; everyone has a different background, but we need to get everyone up to speed.”
Not only will players become aware of the distinctiveness of English football during games, but training may also differ from what some are used to. However, experienced centre-back Willy Boly is assisting the newcomers in settling in.
“I had a good chat with Willy the other day,” Cooper added. “He’s played in England a long time now, he’s a really intelligent guy and has a good offering of reflection to the boys. I know he will be telling them to get ready for the Premier League, get ready for English football, it’s different.
“It’s different in so many ways, that’s what makes our league the best. It doesn’t matter where you’ve come from or what you’ve done, there’s still a feeling of, ‘OK, right, this is how it is in the Premier League’. It’s normally around the intensity and the pressure in the game of turnovers and transition, and the athleticism. That’s the English game.
“It’s not about us adapting to players, it’s about the players adapting to us and our league. That’s what you’ll see from the new boys.
“We’ve got loads of good examples from last season of players adapting. I’m thinking of players like Orel (Mangala) and Danilo. And also the boys who stepped up from the Championship, although obviously they knew the English game.
“It is also about how we train. When you ask the boys how things are doing, they all remark the training is far more severe than in other countries – not better or worse, just different. The intensity is what differs.
“As a coaching staff, we need to take a step back and say, OK, these guys are going to be up and down before they feel comfortable in the Premier League.” That is what coaching entails.
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