Once again rumours about the future of Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper have begun to circulate.

Although the club is comfortably outside the relegation zone, reports emerged in the wake of the club’s 2-3 defeat to Brighton.

The Daily Mail claimed owner Evangelos Marinakis was growing “increasingly frustrated” and sources had told the paper Cooper’s future was a matter for debate.

“The Forest board have yet to decide on an alternative manager and it is not believed they have made approaches, which suggests Cooper may still have time to turn the tide. Yet it is believed his relationship with Marinakis has grown increasingly strained in recent times,” the newspaper added.

Barely had the article had time to land than contradictory information appeared in a rival outlet.

The Telegraph suggested that Marinakis had given Cooper his “full support,” although the paper added that the manager was under pressure after one win in nine Premier League games.

In a manner that was all too reminiscent of last season, news of the Nottingham Forest’s manager being under threat prompted other teams to monitor the situation.

Crystal Palace and West Ham United are both credited with an interest in Cooper as a long-term candidate to replace aging bosses, Roy Hodgson and David Moyes.

Last year Marinakis stuck with Cooper and handing him a new contract until 2025, but even with that, of all the coaches in the Premier League, the Welshman always feels in the most precarious position

Writing in a blog for the BBC, Nottingham Forest fan Pat Riddell offered a sensible perspective on the whole furor.

“There is something to be said for avoiding social media after the final whistle. Win, lose or draw, the wild oscillations of opinion can appear to be representative when in reality they’re merely the loud minority,” he observed.

“And so it ever was. The truth, of course, is that football managers are always under pressure: you don’t need a newspaper ‘exclusive’ to know this.

“Steve Cooper is no exception. Nottingham Forest have spent a lot of money and there is an expectation to be higher up the table. But progress doesn’t always come as quickly as impatience demands.”

As Riddell pointed out barely any time had passed since an impressive performance had people around the City Ground feeling positive.

“Just three weeks ago Forest beat Villa 2-0 and Cooper was rightly lauded. Two defeats later it’s another story. Yes, there is work to be done. But keeping a level head is sometimes the hardest thing in football,” he said.

The problem is that soccer can be overwhelmingly short-term.

It requires a stronger will and more strategic mindset to look beyond the last set of results.

But that is easier said than done.

When it feels like a side is losing its way delaying action can ultimately be more harmful.

As sportswriter, Tom Collomosse pointed out, too much attention on Forest’s current predicament forgets the incredible work by Cooper to get there.

“Steve Cooper may be fighting for his position as Nottingham Forest manager but nothing can tarnish one of the most impressive managerial jobs of recent times,” he wrote.

“When Cooper took charge at the City Ground, Forest were bottom of the Championship and it would have been a fine achievement to lead them to mid-table that season. Instead, Cooper got them promoted for the first time this century.

“Once in the top flight, Cooper had a revamped squad to manage and had little input into recruitment. It was often a chaotic campaign, hampered by injuries to key players, but still Cooper kept them up.”

Collomosse claimed Cooper had rejected two positions to stay with Forest last season, such was the Welshman’s love of the club.

It would be good to think such loyalty would be repaid in testing times, but in soccer that is rarely the case.

As Cooper himself pointed out were it not for a penalty decision that went against Forest in the last game against Brighton, the result could have gone in his team’s favor. Not that he excused his side’s performance because of this.

“It would be easy for me to hide behind an awful penalty decision but I’m not going to hide behind that - as bad as it was - because we’ve got to play better than we did in the first half.

“We did a lot better in the second half. We played with a bit more impetus and positivity.”

Even in his criticism of the officials, Cooper displayed the thoughtfulness that has made him stand out from other coaches.

“In the international break, you have time to think things through, and I’m really trying to think about how I want to be in the camp of supporting referees and helping the process. It is clearly having a massive negative impact on our game at the moment.

“I’m trying to say to myself, let’s not jump on the bandwagon, let’s try to be rational with how we think and our comments.”

Its reflections like these demonstrate just how much of a gem Cooper is. Forest is lucky to have him.