Jamie Carragher believes Nottingham Forest should stick with Steve Cooper despite their miserable start to the season.
The Reds were thrashed 4-0 at Leicester City in the Monday Night Football to leave them rock bottom of the Premier League after eight matches. They have picked up just four points from a possible 24 and have lost their last five games, including damaging home defeats against Bournemouth and Fulham.
There was some optimism that the Reds would be able to turn their fortunes around against a confidence-ridden Foxes side, but Brendan Rodgers' men ran out comfortable winners at the King Power Stadium. James Maddison's brace and an excellent Harvey Barnes strike put the Foxes in control at the break, before Patson Daka added a fourth with a cheeky flick to wrap up the points.
Cooper has been put under extreme pressure following the defeat and reports have suggested the Reds are debating whether to sack the 43-year-old, with Rafael Benitez said to be lined-up as a replacement. However, Carragher doesn't think owner Evangelos Marinakis should part ways with Cooper.
"There will be a lot of questions asked about it, certainly from the outside, because of the expenditure," Carragher told Sky Sports. "When a team comes up from the Championship you expect them to be fighting for their lives throughout the season.
"But because of how much money Nottingham Forest have spent, there may be an expectation that they shouldn't even be in this position. The players that have been brought in, yes some of them have Premier League pedigree.
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Getty Images)"I think he [Cooper] deserves a lot longer than he's got to prove something in the next two or three games because when you actually think of what he has actually done for Forest, how long they have been out of the Premier League, 23 years.
"It was not just getting them up, they were bottom of the League when he came in. He's been bottom of the League last season, a completely different proposition, but the way he spoke then about the club, you'd think he was a fan in some ways.
"So there's no doubt what he did last season, he really embraced the legendary European Cup figures and he's got a real connection between himself and the supporters. I don't think that will be broken and I don't think Forest fans will be calling for Cooper to go or anything.
"I think they realise more than anyone what he has done, right now there may be calls from outside but you just hope the owner will give him more time just because of the fact of what he did last season and it's a unique situation. He knows more than anyone that sooner or later results will have to turn."
