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Nottingham Forest have appointed Vitor Pereira on an 18-month deal as the 57-year-old becomes the club’s fourth manager of the campaign.

The Portuguese takes over at the City Ground from Sean Dyche, who was sacked on Thursday, and one of his tasks will be to help Forest avoid relegation from the Premier League.

They are 17th in the top flight, three points above the drop zone, after two wins in their last 10 games.

Pereira will take his first training session at Forest on Monday and his first game in charge will be the first leg of the Europa League knockout round play-off tie against his former club Fenerbahce in Turkey on Thursday.

His side will then host Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, 22 February.

The appointment by Forest breaks a record as no club in Premier League history have ever completed a season with four different permanent managers in charge of the club.

Pereira returns for another spell in English football, having been axed by Wolves in November after 11 months in charge.

He follows Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Dyche as Forest manager since September.

They sacked Dyche after being held to a disappointing goalless draw by bottom club Wolves on Wednesday.

Pereira, who won 14 of his 38 games in charge of Wolves and helped them stay up last season, quickly emerged as the preferred replacement, having worked previously under Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis at Greek club Olympiacos.

He won the title and Greek Cup in 2014-15 in his six months in charge, before leaving for Fenerbahce.

Pereira joined Wolves in December 2024, but was sacked three months ago with the club on two points from their first 10 league matches.

He started his managerial career with Portuguese club Sanjoanense in 2004 and, following spells in Germany, China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, he embarks on his 15th role.

Pereira’s coaching staff will include Filipe Jorge Monteiro Almeida and Luis Miguel Moreira Da Silva being his assistant coaches.

Media caption,

Wasteful Forest held at home to Wolves

Forest sacked Nuno just three games into the season in September after he declared his relationship with Marinakis had deteriorated, despite finishing seventh and qualifying for Europe last season.

Australian Postecoglou was appointed as his successor but lasted only 39 days after failing to win any of his eight league games in charge – drawing two and losing six.

Dyche’s arrival appeared to bring stability, winning seven of his opening 12 games, but the poor recent run saw Forest fail to pull away from danger, with players unconvinced by his methods.

Several were summoned to see owner Marinakis after the Wolves draw, with opinions also canvassed following Friday’s 3-1 defeat at fellow strugglers Leeds.

One of the issues under Dyche, who did not have striker Chris Wood available during his tenure because of a knee injury, became the side’s lack of goals.

In the goalless draw with Wolves, Forest had 35 attempts on goal without scoring.

Forest’s 241 shots during Dyche’s 114-day reign placed them ninth in the league, but their overall conversion rate of 8.3% was the third worst in the division.

Should be no surprises between manager and owner – analysis

Vitor Pereira’s dream was to manage in the Premier League.

He has conceded he made too many wrong moves too soon as he tried to plot a path to England, managing 13 clubs before realising his goal.

That eventually came with Wolves after he came close to joining Everton, while having also held talks at different times with Chelsea, Arsenal, Watford and West Brom.

He initially forged a strong bond with Wolves fans, going drinking with them after victories with the phrase ‘first the points, then the pints’ coined.

It went sour quickly this season – he clashed with supporters after a 3-2 home defeat to Burnley in October, before eventually being sacked in November.

Pereira was unhappy with Wolves’ transfer business in the summer, despite ultimately signing off on the buys.

He felt Wolves were too slow and did not get his first-choice targets, to the extent Pereira regrets not walking away from Molineux at the start of the season.

Yet Pereira at least knows what it is like to work under Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis so there should be no surprises between the pair.

‘Short-term is his thing’

BBC Radio WM’s Mike Taylor speaking about Vitor Pereira on the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast:

“He came in at Wolves, the first game at Leicester, they had to stand up and win that game which they did.

“Later they had a run of six wins in a row. In that sense he galvanised the team, pulled them together and a state of basic organisation.

“His managerial record, he’s been everywhere, often not for very long. So this is the Pereira method, has been go in, do a job and move on.

“He had nine clubs in 10 years in seven countries before Wolves. Short-term is his thing. For the short-term he did a job.”

What do Forest fans think?

Simon: Sad to see SD go. Should have been given until end of the season. Players let him down against Wolves on Wednesday. They need to take a long, hard look at themselves. I think he would have kept them up.

That reported, I think VP could be a shrewd choice. Another Portuguese will suit the Brazilians and it’s interesting he’s managed Fenerbahce, who Forest play in the Europa League play-offs.

Ken: Yes it will work. We’ve swapped a Morris Minor for a Bentley. He will sort us out to stay up, then further embed his philosophy in the summer. First thing is to implement his middle press and teach the players his triggers and when to use them.

Sean: This will not work. No offence to the new boss, but having a fourth “permanent” manager will only create further instability in the team. Pereira will have a tough job, but he has to get us scoring goals and not conceding and he needs a confident team to do it. I am hopefully wrong, but I can’t see that happening.

Neil: We need to forget what has happened so far this season and concentrate on PL survival, even at the expense of the Europa League. We need a manager who can galvanise our squad and get them fighting for results the way Leeds and West Ham have been doing.

Tony: This season is all on the owner! I don’t fancy a bet on us staying up with the newest appointment!

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  • Nottingham Forest
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