Nottingham Forest poised to replace Steve Cooper with Arsenal legend as relegation looms
Patrick Vieira is Nottingham Forest’s preferred candidate to replace manager Steve Cooper if he gets sacked, according to reports.
The Tricky Trees are set to face Manchester United at the City Ground on Sunday, with the club currently sitting third bottom of the Premier League table.
Just a draw would be enough to lift Forest out of the relegation zone, but a loss to Man Utd could allegedly spell the end of Cooper’s tenure.
The English coach remains a popular figure among Forest supporters, after guiding the former European champions back to the top flight after a 23-year absence.
However, given Forest are flirting with a return to the Championship despite signing a record-breaking 30 new players this season, Cooper could end up losing his job if he fails to turn his team’s form around.
As mentioned, Forest are currently third bottom, but only on goal difference – with 17th placed Everton on the same amount of points and also in poor form, after losing at home to Fulham on Saturday.
Despite recently being given a vote of confidence by club owner Evangelos Marinakis. Cooper is still massively under pressure.
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Forest eye Vieira as Cooper replacement
According to the Daily Star, Vieira is top of Marinakis’ shortlist to replace Cooper, after the Arsenal legend was sacked as Crystal Palace manager in March.
This came after the Eagles went on a dismal run of 13 league games without a single win – putting them in serious danger of relegation.
Now, under interim manager Roy Hodgson, Palace have bounced backed with two victories.
Despite the links with Forest, Vieira would reportedly prefer to wait until the end of the season before deciding his next job.
Interestingly, the Frenchman isn’t the only iconic Premier League midfielder being linked with the replacing Cooper at Forest, with Steven Gerrard also among the favourites to take the helm at the City ground.
If Cooper is sacked and Vieira does turn down the job, this could open the door for Gerrard’s return to Premier League management.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what happens if Forest do lose to Man Utd on Sunday.
It would certainly a big risk to sack the fan-favourite, Cooper, so close to the end of the season, but if bringing in a new manager could give them enough of a boost to string together some much-needed results, it could be worth a gamble.
