LONDON, Oct 7 — Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has signed a new contract that keeps him at the club until 2025 even though they are rooted at the bottom of the Premier League.

Cooper, 42, was reported to be facing the sack earlier this week after a run of five successive Premier League defeats but he has now tied his future to the club for the next three years.

His existing deal was due to expire in 2023.

The 42-year-old took charge of Forest in September last year and has since won 29 of his 54 matches at the helm.

The club finished fourth in the second-tier Championship last season, returning to the Premier League for the first time since 1999 after beating Huddersfield 1-0 in the play-off final at Wembley.

Forest said in a statement: "It is now important that our focus is solely on football.

"As a group we are all concentrated and will do everything we can to help the team move up the league table and once again demonstrate our qualities that led us to the Premier League.” — AFP