Quick summary: Nottingham Forest have appointed former Wolves boss Vitor Pereira as their new manager on a deal until 2027, appointing a coach who says his tactics are a way to “express my creativity”
Nottingham Forest have appointed Vitor Pereira as their fourth manager of the season, giving the 57-year-old an 18-month deal.
Pereira’s first match in charge will be against one of his multitude of former clubs when Forest visit Turkish side Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday.
Assistant coaches Filipe Jorge Monteiro Almeida and Luis Miguel Moreira Da Silva and backroom staff Bruno Filipe Araujo De Moura and Pedro Simao Capela Silva Lopes have arrived with Pereira.
Vitor Pereira analysis: What are his tactics and style?
Pereira played with a strict back three and implemented a mid block on his way to reviving Wolves’ fortunes last season, with his team waiting for their opponents to provoke them to press and then attempting to take possession.
That back three always contains at least one full-back who has superior technical quality to centre-backs, allowing Pereira’s teams to play out from defence confidently.
Pereira instructs his players on a ‘box’ in the half space in the middle of the pitch where creative players link defence and attack.
“We must go with the intentionality to play good football,” Pereira told Sky Sports in January 2025, explaining how he wants his teams to keep their identity regardless of their opponents.
“To be organised, to understand the moments to press, to understand the moments to wait, to understand the moments to go fast, the moments to slow down.
“With football, I can express my creativity. Creativity is something that I have in myself, inside of me, and I need to express it.
“And I express by creating a style to play… it’s like a painting. Each club, each team, we can create a different style of play.
“I try to play with quality. I like to see the teams with the ball, creating things, being protagonists.”
What is Vitor Pereira’s record? Clubs, titles
An amateur player during a 10-year career as a midfielder in Portugal, Pereira started managing in his homeland in 2004 and became assistant manager at Porto before manager Andre Villas-Boas left for Chelsea.
After replacing Villas-Boas, Pereira won back-to-back Portuguese top-flight titles, then had a globe-trotting run across 11 years with Al-Ahli, Olympiacos – the club where Marinakis is president – Fenerbahce, 1860 Munich, Shanghai SIPG, Fenerbahce again, Corinthians and Flamengo.
Marinakis may have been inspired to appoint Pereira by memories of his Greek Super League and Greek Cup triumphs in 2014/15, and he also won the league and cup titles during his time in China.
The expressively passionate Pereira has claimed he held talks with Everton in 2013, telling BBC Sport the meeting was one of “many job interviews with English clubs”.
Wolves were five points from safety when they paid Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab about £825,000 in compensation for Pereira, who replaced Gary O’Neil in December 2024 and guided the club to a 16th-placed finish, 17 points above the relegation zone and level on points with Manchester United.
Wolves became the sixth club in Premier League history to earn fewer than three points from their opening 10 matches this season, necessitating Pereira’s dismissal despite signing a three-year contract in September.
Their plight was hindered by key forward Matheus Cunha joining United for £62.5m, wideman Rayan Ait-Nouri moving to Manchester City for £31m and captain Nelson Semedo leaving for Fenerbahce as a free agent.
Announcing that Pereira and eight of his backroom staff would be leaving, Wolves said on November 2 that results and performances had “fallen below acceptable standards”.
“Vitor and his team worked tirelessly for Wolves and helped guide us through a challenging period last season, for which we are grateful,” said executive chairman Jeff Shi.
“Unfortunately, the start to this season has been a disappointment and, despite our strong desire to give the head coach time and matches to find an improvement, we have reached a point where we must make a change.
How many managers have Forest had this season?
Forest started the season under Nuno Espirito Santo, who guided them to contention for Champions League qualification last season.
They finished seventh and are in the Europa League because Crystal Palace were demoted to the Conference League after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a UEFA ruling over a breach of multi-club ownership rules.
Santo, who has since taken over at West Ham, was sacked in September after 21 months in charge following a disagreement with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou then took charge for the shortest-ever managerial reign at Forest, lasting 39 days and failing to win any of his eight matches.
Ex-Everton head coach Dyche succeeded Postecoglou in October and achieved the highest win percentage of any of Marinakis’ nine managers since his takeover in 2017, including qualification for the Europa League knockout round play-offs.
Forest were ninth in the form table over six matches when Dyche departed after 114 days, with the final strat for Marinakis a 0-0 draw at home to bottom side Wolves on Wednesday in which they failed to score from 35 attempts at goal – the most by a Dyche team in the Premier League.
What’s next for Forest? Pereira’s first game, fixtures
Pereira will be in familiar surroundings when Forest visit Fenerbahce in the first leg of the Europa League play-offs on Thursday (17:45 GMT).
They host Liverpool – who are currently sixth – in the league on February 22 (14:00), then host Fenerbahce in a decider to reach the last 16 on February 26 (20:00).
