Nottingham Forest have hired a set-piece coach in order to address one of their issues.
The Reds’ Achilles’ heel has been dead-ball situations, both offensively and defensively. They’ve been looking for a set-piece coach for a while and have now added Simon Rusk to their backroom staff.
Rusk has been the England Under-19s head coach since August 2022, having joined the St George’s Park set-up that May, but has now left to join the Nigel Doughty Academy. Prior to joining the Three Lions, he was assistant manager at Dundee, manager of Stockport County, and spent nearly a decade at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Rusk spent two seasons as a first-team coach with the Seagulls, working alongside ex-Forest manager Chris Hughton. He also managed the club’s Under-18s and Under-23s teams.
The 41-year-old is the club’s first specialist set-piece coach. He is said to have already begun work as the Reds attempt to reverse a poor run of form that has put head coach Steve Cooper under pressure.
The club has been looking to bring in a set-piece coach since the summer in order to make progress this season, with owner Evangelos Marinakis said to be frustrated by the delay. Gianni Vio, a former Tottenham Hotspur player, was not signed.
Cooper previously stated, “We’ve been trying to bring in a set-piece coach since the summer.” During the summer, I made several changes to our coaching model and how we can grow.
“You’re always looking for little ways to improve, and one of those was bringing in a set-piece coach.” We were on the verge of hiring someone. There will be coaches who disagree with me and others who agree with me, but I believe it is now a specialty area that requires attention.”
