Nottingham Forest boss offers Sheffield United verdict after City Ground play-off controversy

Steve Cooper has admitted he hasn’t thought about the controversy that marred Sheffield United’s last trip to the City Ground as they prepare for their first clash with Nottingham Forest since that infamous play-off semi-final last year.

After two tight clashes Forest prevailed on penalties to advance to Wembley and their eventual play-off final victory over Huddersfield Town, to seal a return to the Premier League for the first time since 1999. But the celebrations were marred by ugly scenes after the final whistle, which saw a mass pitch invasion - in which United skipper Billy Sharp was assaulted by a Forest fan and teammate Oli McBurnie became involved in an alleged post-match altercation with a home supporter.

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McBurnie was subsequently charged with assault by beating and although he was cleared of all wrongdoing in court, it did nothing to dampen simmering tensions between both sets of supporters. The fixture, originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, was switched to Friday night and an electric atmosphere is expected for Forest’s first home game of the new season.

“It’s not something I’ve really thought about, to be honest,” said Cooper when asked about any ‘bad blood’ between the sides. “They were big games at the time and really tight affairs, in both games. There were no goals between us in the end and a penalty shootout, which was probably right in terms of it being neck and neck and how both teams did in the league.

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“I’ve not thought about feelings between clubs, it’s not something we’re thinking about. Fair play to Sheffield United for what they did last season and bouncing back from that for automatic promotion. We know how hard it is to get out of the league and to do it automatically deserves a lot of credit. A lot has changed here, we’re trying to grow both on and off the pitch and we’re just on our own journey.

“We tend to think about ourselves and the team is very different now. Just looking forward and at ourselves. Like every Premier League game it’s going to be a tough game and there’ll be a great atmosphere. We’re just thinking about how we can have the best impact we can and that’s our approach.”

Both sides were beaten in their opening games of the season, United losing 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace and Forest going down 2- away at Arsenal. “Every Premier League team is full of strengths and players who can make a difference in games, and Sheffield United will be no different,” Cooper added.

“A promoted team comes up with momentum and a lot of players who played there last season. They’ve lost a couple and brought some in but there’s a core who’s been there for a while and that brings strengths as well. It wasn’t something we were able to do last year, so there’s that. To get to this level you have more than something about you and they’ll be no different.

“We’ll fully respect that and be ready for that but we’ll be focusing on ourselves, being back here and how we can have a positive impact on the game. In the end that’s always the most positive factor in getting the performance and the factor you want.”