MARK COOPER lauded his side after Forest Green settled for a point at title rivals Salford City, writes Sam Wiles.

With Manchester United luminaries Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers watching on, Rovers continued their unbeaten start to the new season as they bossed a  0-0 draw at The Peninsula Stadium.

And Cooper insisted his side couldn’t have done much more against a Salford outfit, who were indebted to Czech goalkeeper Vaclav HIadky.

He told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: “He’s made two or three unbelievable saves in the first half to keep them in the game.

“The keeper’s got them a point and they’ll be delighted with that. I thought we were brilliant; I thought the boys were outstanding and we dominated the game.

“We kept trying to go forward and score, I thought it was an outstanding performance.

“The only thing that was missing was that we didn’t score.”

With a win and two draws from the opening three matches, Cooper believes victories are just around the corner. “If you keep playing like that, we’ll start to win lots of games,” he added.

“If we can play like that, seven or eight times out of ten, we’re going to be a really good team this year.”

The New Lawn’s latest arrival, Jayden Richardson, made his debut as he arrived on loan from Championship side Nottingham Forest earlier in the week. The 20-year-old was replaced after an hour by the experienced Scott Wagstaff, but Cooper insisted it was just to keep things fresh.

He said: “We knew there’d be a chance that he’ll get tired, so it was the sensible thing to put Waggy on and some fresh legs.”