Nottingham Forest have a habit of blowing things up in your face. So when I say it feels like Vitor Pereira might be the head coach we need right now, there’s a high chance it could backfire.
It’s still early days, of course, but there’s already a sense that Pereira understands the club. He might be our fourth manager of the season, but his comments after the 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur suggest there’s a continuity with the Steve Cooper and Nuno Espirito Santo eras.
“Each time that we fight, we need to feel that we are a family. The players need to feel they are fighting with our supporters, and with the club, with the city. Because if we are together – of course, we can lose games – but the energy that they send to us is something special.”
Sometimes saying the right things and doing the right things seem to be blatantly obvious. And yet, many managers can’t even bring themselves to say the right thing – for example, Ange Postecoglou – let alone do the right thing. Pereira has managed both with aplomb.
Cooper and Nuno clearly knew when to put an arm around a player and how to motivate them. Pereira has been very clear from the start that confidence is key and he’s sought to instil that. You only need to look at the away performance against Midtjylland to see that the fringe players – long maligned, although not necessarily their fault – have responded and delivered on that trust.
There is method, there is structure and there are clear commands that have allowed this talented squad to flourish once again. The belief and determination that has seen us through demanding times is clearly there. It just needs to stay.
It might only be his first Premier League win but it follows battling performances against Liverpool and Manchester City. There’s a growing sense that there is unity and resilience returning.
It doesn’t matter now where the points come from, we just have to believe that Pereira’s methods will deliver.
What have you made of Pereira’s start as Forest boss? Is he proving to be the head coach you need or do you still have reservations?
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