Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has been told to avoid a managerial firing.

The Premier League club have been on a poor run of results that has seen them lose four of their last five matches.

While Marinakis has high standards, he should continue to back manager Steve Cooper, according to Liverpool legend Steve McManaman.

“I personally really like Steve Cooper, I really do, and I think it would be a very harsh decision to sack him," he told BetFred.

“I understand the business of football, the ownership at Nottingham Forest and I know what Evangelos Marinakis has been like with managers at Olympiacos.

“It would be very harsh to get rid of Steve considering everything he's done for Nottingham Forest.

“When you take into account how he got them up from where they were initially at the bottom of the Championship, to dealing with the turnover of players last year to keep them in the Premier League, then it would ultimately be quite ruthless. If the league was to finish tomorrow, then they would be fine again.

“It's small steps in the Premier League when you have to invest money, change the team over and sell decent players like they did this summer to allow them to bring other players in. You just need to give him time to adjust to his team.

“They were unlucky against Brighton and they could have easily had a penalty against Everton. I think they're fine at the moment, but unfortunately, there are always going to be rumors about your job when you're in that ownership model because of the people who run the club.

“I don't like managers being sacked at all, especially if it's just a knee-jerk reaction, so I really hope they stick with Steve Cooper."