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The hairs on the back of Steve Cooper’s head stood up as 25,000 Forest fans belted out their version of Mull of Kintyre in the warmest of welcomes to the City Ground.

Then the new manager watched his team claw back a point thanks to a fluke goal from Max Lowe which wiped out Matt Smith’s header.

‘It was amazing,’ admitted Cooper. ‘Biggest crowd of the season and I was looking at them and not the pitch! It has only whetted my appetite. The players showed character to fight back.’

Max Lowe's attempted cross went in off the back post to claim a point for Nottingham Forest

The last time Forest played at home a pall hung over the place. The thoroughly decent Chris Hughton was on the way out, while the players looked devoid of energy or ideas and the club were propping up the Championship.

Millwall have a habit of putting spanners into works so were not the ideal first match. They made it six draws out of nine games but manager Gary Rowett was not happy.

Bottom spot now belongs to the noisy neighbours after Derby went into administration and a highly-rated coach is in place to bring back the good times.

‘It was the moment which changed the game,’ Rowett said of Lowe’s mishit cross. ‘I’m not sure that their play deserved it but it meant we didn’t win away. We looked solid but we need an extra 5% on the performance.’

Forest’s revolving-door policy has seen some more-than-decent managers come and go in super quick time, reputations shredded and egos mashed.

Steve Cooper secured a point in his first match as Nottingham Forest boss on Saturday

Cooper has got a job on. His CV trumpets his work with young players and how he came so close with Swansea and, yes, the fans would love to see an open, eye-catching brand of football, but the basics need to be addressed first.

A warm welcome and a decent opening spell promised more than it delivered and in the blink of an eye Forest were a goal down and rocking at the back.

Sheyi Ojo a veritable pest, provided the cross from which Matt Smith headed past Brice Samba. Cue wild celebrations from Millwall’s small but noisy contingent of fans.

Cooper’s first day at the office had already taken one hit, top scorer Lewis Grabban replaced by Lyle Taylor after a crunching collision with Bartosz Bialkowski in the opening minutes.

What would have come in handy was a stroke of good fortune. Max Lowe may well try to claim his outrageous cross was always intended as a shot. Whatever the intent, it sailed over Bialkowski’s head and confirmed the draw.