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Vítor Pereira believes the trust he has with Nottingham Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, means he can survive the poisoned chalice of the City Ground job.
The Portuguese has become Forest’s fourth manager of the season after Sean Dyche followed Nuno Espírito Santo and Ange Postecoglou out of the door last week as Marinakis acted in an attempt to avoid Premier League relegation.
Pereira has worked previously with the Greek businessman – guiding the Greek club Olympiakos to a league and cup double more than a decade ago – and believes that stands him in good stead.
“He’s ambitious,” the former Wolves manager said. “He wants to win, he’s emotional and I know him very well. The conversations were about our time in Olympiakos. I remember the energy and the fire we created.
“Greece is a bit like Turkey. There is fire inside, they like to see the energy and he asked me to be myself. He liked the way that when we worked together, we got the league and the cup.
“It was in the middle of the season and we created a good relationship. He trusts my work, I trust his personality because in football we need passion too. I have fire and I have passion. Football is my passion, something that sleeps and wakes with me.
“I came with the intention to give everything of myself, to give my body and soul to this club to help the club and together we can do it. This is the pressure that means football is beautiful. We are better under pressure. I need the pressure to be in my best level. Pressure is important in football.”
Dyche was sacked in the hours after Wednesday’s goalless draw with Wolves after several senior players were called into Marinakis’s office for a debrief. Pereira has called on his side to buy into his mantra.
“If you don’t buy the idea of the manager, it’s a big problem,” he said. “You must also buy the personality … If you buy the idea and the person, have an open mind to receive information and to work hard together, it’s possible to achieve what we want.”
Pereira kept Wolves in the Premier League after taking over from Gary O’Neil in December 2024, guiding them to mid-table safety and he feels he can do the same with Forest. “
“Of course, I believe that it’s possible. I believe that we can get points, results and quality.”
