But after losing at Middlesbrough on Boxing Day they were again beaten by Huddersfield on Thursday.

"What's interesting for me now is that I'm going to see the players in a different challenge which I haven't been able to see yet," said Cooper.

"We are trying to build a way of playing but we are also trying to build a winning mentality and a culture, and you only learn about that when you see players in all sorts of situations," he told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"I've seen them have some highs but now we've had a couple of setbacks so it's going to be really interesting to see the lads and observe who really wants to be here and play at this club."

Forest were bottom of the Championship when Cooper took over in September but their run of form under the ex-Swansea boss has seen them climb to ninth, five points off the play-off spots.

And he said he was hopeful the January transfer window would give him the opportunity to build on the foundations he has set and improve the team.

"We will just keep going and I won't lose sight of where we were when I first came," added Cooper.

"You look at the league table, yes, but I'm also interested in how we build the team, how we build the culture of the club, how we improve everything that needs improving on - which is a lot to be honest.

"I just want the club to really grab hold of everything and be high-performing in every department - and there's a lot of work to do all over the club on that.

"We would like to see some players come in, particularly as we've got injuries, but we are trying to build a team for now, but also for the future as well.

"Players who come in will hopefully be able to have an impact in both of those two scenarios, that's what the plan is. If players are going to come in, the earlier the better because they can play games, commit to the training programme, just be a Forest player quickly."