QPR defender Steve Cook says Ryan Yates and Joe Worrall can be mainstays for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Cook says fans should get behind the local pair.
“I’m on Twitter and I see stuff. It’s the nature of the beast that you can’t please everyone,” former Forest defender Cook told the Garibaldi Red podcast.
“I was so pleased for them when we got promoted and then last year staying up because you see how much the clubs means to them.
“The expectation that is on their shoulders and was with Brennan (Johnson) is huge. It’s always hard when you come through an academy because you’re viewed in the way that it’s easier for a new signing to come in and take your spot.
“Those two, or three, fly the flag for Nottingham extremely well. Joe Worrall is Nottingham through and through.
“With his performance at Chelsea he did himself and his family extremely proud. With the new contract too, he fully deserves it. He was out of the team last year but you never saw any sulking. He got on with it and was in a position where not many club captains have been.
“He’d come on in a game and do well but then he wouldn’t be in the team the next game. Then you’d get an injury and he’d come on again, but what he does well is react to the criticism.
“You have people saying he shouldn’t be in the team but he shows why he should. It’s impossible in the Premier League to play well in 38 games unless you’re a top, top player because the standard is so good.
“With Yatesy last year, he came out the team and we didn’t get the results we felt we should have. That’s a big compliment to him.
“He’s an ultimate professional. He wears his heart on his sleeve. A club like Nottingham Forest, you don’t want to lose that. Those two boys are going to be massively important for a number of years.
“The fans that say they shouldn’t be in the team need to a little bit careful because you lose a lot when they aren’t in the team.
“They take players with them and show them how much the club means. I think they will play for the club for a long, long time and I think they should.
“They deserve it. They’ve stepped up to the level extremely quickly and it’s a very big jump. I’m really pleased for them and I look forward to watching them represent the club for many a year.”
