Players still back me despite defeat at Forest, claims Cotterill

Posted Sunday, March 04, 2018 by PA

Steve Cotterill believes his Birmingham players demonstrated they are still right behind him with their battling performance, even after a 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

The Blues might have escaped with a point, if not for some big saves from Reds keeper Costel Pantilimon, who played a key role in helping Aitor Karanka secure his first home win as Forest manager.

Goals from Joe Lolley and Matty Cash either side of half-time put Forest in control, but a Michael Morrison header, three minutes from time, gave Birmingham late hope.

Forest held on to secure a fourth game unbeaten in the Championship – while Birmingham suffered a fifth straight defeat, leaving them still stranded in the bottom three.

“We have made a lot of individual errors throughout this season and it is hard to legislate for that,” said Cotterill, who has had to face endless speculation about his job.

“All I can do is keep a calm head. That is all the players can do as well.

“You saw a team today who know their manager is under pressure. But they were committed. There is no way they are not giving their all for me.

“The players ran their socks off and the support I have had from the staff as well has been humbling. You can only keep going and keep professional and that is what I have done. From the minute I came in right up until my time is up, I will remain focused and committed.

“I am not fearful. You get past that moment. At the end of the day, if all the talk and all the rumours and everything else are true, that is up to those people. It is nothing to do with me.

“If we could have got our noses in front today, we would have won the game. These lads have not given up.”

Forest boss Karanka thanked those who had worked tirelessly over the previous 24 hours to ensure the game went ahead – with many of the club’s staff helping to clear snow from the pitch and stands.

Karanka was desperate for the game to go ahead, with his side in confident mood following a 5-2 win over QPR last weekend.

“The first thing I want to say is to thank everyone in the club, because I know how hard they have been working to get the game on today,” he said.

“There have been a lot of games called off around the country but people here understood how important it was to play today. The effort they put in has been amazing.

“I also want to say thank you to our crowd. Because it would have been easy for them to stay at home on days like today.

“But they supported us in difficult conditions and helped us to get a good win. It was not the best performance or the best game, but we have another three points on the table and that is important.

“We knew we were in a good moment; in a good run. We knew also they were not in a good run and we wanted to try to take advantage of that.

“The people in the club did very well to make sure we could play today.”