Image Credits: Imago Images
Nottingham Forest’s new head coach Vitor Pereira has wasted no time in setting out his stall – and his early words will not have gone unnoticed at Anfield ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash.
Appointed on Sunday on an 18‑month deal, the Portuguese coach steps straight into a huge week: a Europa League play‑off first leg away to old club Fenerbahce on Thursday, before his first league game in charge comes at home to Liverpool.
Forest sit just above the relegation zone after a miserable run that has already seen off three managers this season, and Pereira has been clear that his priority is survival. He has publicly backed his new squad to stay up, stressing that “this is the moment to believe in ourselves as a team” and insisting he would not have taken the job if he did not think Forest could avoid the drop.
At the same time, he has warned that players must quickly buy into his leadership and ideas if they want to turn things around.
“It is difficult, I understand the point of view of the players because each manager has leadership, each manager has an idea of football but it is important to believe in the work we are doing,” he said to Nottingham Forest’s media channel.
He then asserted that they have already started to implement his ideas ahead of the clash vs Liverpool this weekend:
“We started today to explain the ideas, it is important to get the players comfortable in the roles and to win the confidence of them, to give them the confidence to play and be themselves.
“For me to lead the team they need to recognise your competence, your hard work to help them and creating a spirit, a smile can do magic, this is the spirit I want to create. We cannot come to the training and not enjoy the training. We want to create the spirit of the family and create the environment to feel happy and feel proud of how we work”
He added that he will be expecting his side to play with quality at the City Ground come the weekend:
“I am very honest, if we play a game without quality at the end of the match I will not feel proud of my work.”
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