The Tricky Trees were sent to the bottom of the Premier League after the 4-0 thumping by Leicester City on Monday evening, their fifth successive loss.
Manager Cooper is now pegged as likely to be sacked, but there are voices that think sacking him now would be a bad step, especially after the work he did in guiding Forest to promotion.
Among those is Pearce, who regaled a story of how he told fans in Nottingham that now is the time they should be backing Cooper the most.
Pearce thinks Cooper is a brilliant manager and needs to be given time to settle down all the new signings at the club.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Pearce said: “I was in Nottingham on Friday night with a lot of supporters at a function and I said your manager needs your support now more than at any time he has been at the football club.
“I think they have got an outstanding manager at the club and he has to be given time to settle all of those players into a rhythm of how he is going to play.
“That’s how I see the situation.”
Names have already started circulating about who could be the next Nottingham Forest boss if the club choose to sack Cooper.
