Nottingham Forest’s coach has asked to leave the club immediately.

Nottingham Forest’s coach has asked to leave the club immediately.

Nottingham Forest fans sang Steve Cooper’s name almost nonstop during the second half of their 5-0 thrashing at Fulham last night, a vocal expression of their enduring appreciation for what he has achieved at the club.

When Cooper spent time acknowledging those fans after the game, it felt like he was waving goodbye, as if it was the last time Cooper was in charge of Forest.

But, for the time being, he is still employed. Your questions in today’s mailbag focused on his future, his relationship with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, and his command of the locker room. Daniel Taylor offers his analysis and insight in this section.

So, first of all, I’d say — as both a Forest supporter and someone with a lot of respect, professionally, for Cooper as a genuinely good guy — that I hope all this ultimately comes to nothing and these aren’t his final days in charge.

Even if Evangelos Marinakis did leave the Fulham game early, he is acutely aware of Cooper’s popularity. It’s true, unfortunately, that the owner doesn’t always share the supporters’ enthusiasm. But he is also very aware of the potential for a fan backlash if Cooper leaves, especially if it doesn’t work out for whoever replaces him. And let’s not forget where Forest, under this regime, were before Cooper changed everything: drifting, stagnating, bottom of the Championship, with a near-mutinous crowd.

Equally, we have to be realistic and, if this is the end for Cooper, do you know who they would love to get? Their first choice, in an ideal world, would be Marco Silva. I remember during Ioannis Vrentzos’ time as Forest’s chief executive how he used to rave about Silva from their time together at Olympiacos. They absolutely loved him: the same mentality, a very natural fit, and immense respect. The dream, I was told, was to be in the Premier League with Silva as manager.

Don’t get me wrong, though: they need someone who is available/gettable and Silva a) has a good job at fellow Premier League side Fulham already and b) recently signed a new contract. He had a £6million ($7.5m) release clause in his previous contract and it will be interesting to learn if Fulham allowed him to have one in this new deal. Either way, it seems a bit improbable to think – again, hypothetically for now – that he will end up being the one.

So, yes, returning to your question, Christian: our info is that there has been regular contact for some time with former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Glasner’s camp. I know some people will not be happy that those discussions can take place when there is already a manager in place. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it works. Why do Forest have a shortlist of potential replacements? Because anything else would be unprofessional and poor preparation. Every club these days have the makings of a succession plan tucked away somewhere, rather than leaving themselves vulnerable to being caught on the hop.