Nottingham Forest have appointed Vitor Pereira as their fourth head coach of the season.
The 57-year-old replaces Sean Dyche at the helm as the Reds try to preserve their Premier League status. The club moved quickly to bring Pereira in after dismissing Dyche on Wednesday evening.
Dyche was sacked around three hours after his team’s 0-0 draw with bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers at the City Ground. He had lasted little more than 100 days at the helm after picking up the reins in October.
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Although the ex-Everton and Burnley boss initially steadied the ship following a rocky start to the campaign that had seen Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou axed, results and performances had taken a downward turn. Forest registered 35 shots at goal against Wolves but couldn’t make a single one of them count. They have picked up just two wins in their last 10 league games.
Pereira arrives with the Reds perilously placed above the relegation zone with 12 games to go. They have a three-point advantage over 18th-placed West Ham United, but Nuno’s Hammers have been in good form of late.
Pereira steered Wolves to safety last term but has been out of work since being given the boot by the West Midlands side last November. He knows Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis well from his stint in charge of Olympiacos in 2015, when he led the Greek giants to a league and cup double.
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The Portuguese also counts Al Shabab, Flamengo, Corinthians, 1860 Munich, Al Ahli and Porto among the clubs he has managed. Additionally, he has had two spells at Fenerbahce - and the Turkish outfit will represent his first opponents as Reds boss.
Forest head to Istanbul next Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League play-off, before hosting Fenerbahce at the City Ground a week later. Pereira’s first Premier League match in the dugout will be at home to Liverpool on Sunday week (February 22).
Announcing Dyche's departure hours after the final whistle on Wednesday, a Forest statement said: "Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach. We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the Club and we wish them the best of luck for the future. We will be making no further comment at this time."
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