Steve Cooper sees confidence return as Nottingham Forest grab draw at Chelsea

LONDON – Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper hailed his players for rallying in Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw at Chelsea to earn a crucial point, and hoped a new sense of confidence would save them from relegation.

Cooper said he sensed that his side, sitting three points off the drop zone with two games left, were coming good at just the right time as they bid to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

Forest, Everton, Leeds United and Leicester City are involved in the survival scrap following the

relegation of Southampton on Saturday

after the 2-0 home loss to Fulham.

“I’ve never had to question the resilience, the desire, the attitude, that part of the mentality,” said Cooper.

“At times a little bit of belief, a bit of concentration and a bit of confidence away from home – that’s why... sometimes we’ve had what we’ve had.

“It was good after going 2-1 down to get something out of the game.”

After snatching the lead with a Taiwo Awoniyi header in the 13th minute, Forest found themselves trailing 2-1 following a quick second-half brace by Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling.

But they bounced back quickly with another Awoniyi header in the 62nd minute.

Forest, with 34 points, host Arsenal next Saturday and visit Crystal Palace in their final game.

Everton (32), who faced leaders Manchester City on Sunday, visit Wolverhampton Wanderers and then host Bournemouth.

Leeds, a point further adrift, play West Ham United away before entertaining Tottenham Hotspur.

Leicester (30) host Liverpool on Monday, travel to Newcastle United and welcome West Ham in their final fixtures.

Cooper said he would maintain his side’s normal training routine heading into the end of the season.

“We have got to stick to what we believe in, stick to the plan,” he said. “We will go straight back to the training ground and not just focus on next Saturday too much.”

Interim Chelsea coach Frank Lampard, who has steered the Blues to victory in

only one of the eight matches

in all competitions since he replaced Graham Potter in early April, lamented his side’s lack of a cutting edge.

“You need to be killers at the top end of the pitch,” Lampard said. “At the moment we don’t have enough of that.”

Chelsea, in 11th place, are headed for one of their worst finishes despite the

huge outlay on players made by their US owners

who bought the club a year ago.

Meanwhile, Leeds have imposed a lifetime ban on a fan who ran into the technical area and pushed Newcastle manager Eddie Howe in the chest in the closing stages of their thrilling 2-2 clash at Elland Road on Saturday.

The visiting team boss has called for tighter security in Premier League stadiums following the incident. Reuters, AFP