‘We’ve suffered for a long time’: Nottingham Forest enter new era at last

Joe Worrall’s voice cracked as the local lad turned leader tried to put a lifetime’s hurt into perspective. The club captain at 25, raised a short drive from the stadium that became a palace of the past, few recognised the gravity of Nottingham Forest’s belated return to the Premier League quite like him. “We’ve been s****,” was his eventual assessment of the years of frustration and yearning.

Worrall wiped away the tears as that all changed on Sunday at Wembley. Forest’s top-flight exile is finally over and the relief of older generations who’ve grieved for too long was as palpable as the ecstasy of the sons and daughters who’ve only known false dawns. The burden of Forest’s glories past is giving way to a new chapter and legacy at last.

“We don’t mind suffering,” Worrall said, even if it was hardly optional during a frantic final half-hour in which Forest clung on for dear life and Huddersfield were controversially denied two penalties. “I’ve seen a lot of good people come and go, who have all added to this football club. I’ll forget names if I attempt to name everyone, but we’ve been really good value this season and I’m just so proud, especially for the manager.”

Their victory undoubtedly relied on a great deal of fortune, but there was a sense of fate aligning for Forest, too. You could feel it in the last throes of their dramatic semi-final against Sheffield United as Brice Samba made a spectacular extra-time save and then refused to be beaten in the penalty shootout. And it was palpable again on the brink of half-time yesterday as James Garner’s hopeful shot took a wicked deflection off Levi Colwill and broke the deadlock in a game where clear-cut chances were virtually non-existent. There was something in the air willing Forest over the finish line, and it was in no short supply as it managed to seep through the vents of Paul Tierney’s VAR suite too.

If Forest’s remarkable turnaround this season has been something close to a miracle, it is unmistakably Steve Cooper who has turned tears into champagne. He inherited a squad that were at rock bottom, having taken just one point from their opening seven games, and has inspired the most remarkable reinvention through a blend of tactical intelligence, astute transfer strategy and careful man-management. The latter is what made him resonate so successfully with England’s U17 squad, affording a trust and freedom that earned loyalty in return, and he has replicated that with a Forest squad of far greater experience who were fraying in the jaws of jeopardy.

“I keep using the expression ‘like a whipped dog’. If you treat any dog with kindness, then they become a nice dog,” Worrall said of his manager. “If you mistreat one, then they’re aggressive, and we were, we’ve been a mistreated team. He’s come in and he’s given us that hope, given us that belief and he’s just been so nice. He’s just killed us with kindness and the fans absolutely adore him, absolutely adore him.”

There will be a sense of vindication for Cooper too, who twice fell short in the play-offs with Swansea. His attention will soon turn to a pivotal summer, in which the combination of new riches, a full pre-season and the ambition of owner Evangelos Marinakis should give Forest a genuine chance of survival. Whether they are able to hold onto loanees Djed Spence and James Garner, as well as warding off interest in Brennan Johnson, will be just as crucial to those hopes.

But for now, Forest can bask in a celebration long overdue. History doesn’t grant any rite of passage when it comes to returning to the Premier League, but there is a certain romance to the reascension of one of England’s great old clubs. In the locker room afterwards, Cooper told his players to enjoy their victory with their families because nobody could feel any greater pride in what they have achieved. The supporters at Wembley might have cause for a fair argument with that, though, after a cathartic day that brought together generations and will surely go down as the beginning of a new era.