Nottingham Forest secured Premier League safety with room to spare thanks to Vitor Pereira's impact
06:00, 29 May 2026
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira
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Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira(Image: PA)
Securing Premier League survival was, Vitor Pereira said, the equivalent of winning the Champions League for Nottingham Forest.
In the end, the Reds stayed up with room to spare as they finished five points clear of the dreaded dotted line. There was no need for biting fingernails or calculating relegation permutations in the final two games.
Pereira put paid to all of that as he steered Forest to calmer waters. His appointment in February was seen as a gamble by some pundits, as owner Evangelos Marinakis turned to his fourth head coach of the campaign, but there is no doubt it paid off.
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To some extent, the Portuguese’s impact on the banks of the Trent cannot be measured in quantifiable terms. He instilled belief, boosted the confidence of a dressing room that had been put through the wringer and created a unity and a fighting spirit.
But the stats also bear out the difference Pereira made, and they also point to cause for optimism for the road ahead. Given time and space to work with his group - as he put it, “the proper conditions to build something strong” - further progress can be made.
From his 12 league games at the helm, Pereira picked up 17 points courtesy of four wins, five draws and three defeats. But for some questionable officiating and a bit of bad fortune, the Reds might have done even better in that spell.
Even so, based on the period of his time in charge Forest ranked ninth in the Premier League. Carried across an entire season, his average of just shy of 1.42 points per game would translate to close to 54 points from 38 matches - a tally that would have matched seventh-placed Sunderland’s Europa League-confirming haul this term.
Almost 39% of the Reds’ final 44-point total came under Pereira, including with an impressive eight-match unbeaten streak. By comparison, his three predecessors (Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche) recorded 27 points between them, at an average of almost 1.04 points per game.
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Goals were a problem in pre-season 12 months ago, and that issue carried over into the start of the campaign. In their first 26 matches, Forest had mustered a total of 25 goals - the second-worst record in the division. By the time five went in on a memorable Friday night in Sunderland, those concerns had long since vanished.
The 23 goals Forest bagged in the final 12 games of the season was the joint-highest haul in the top flight for that period, alongside Manchester City. Five came from set-pieces, putting the Reds joint-fourth in the division during that timeframe.
At the other end of the pitch, the team conceded 13 goals with Pereira at the helm; ranking them seventh in the Premier League in that period. Only one was let in from a set-piece, the same as champions Arsenal managed in that spell - with only Fulham performing better with none conceded.
Forest’s goal difference of +10 from those games was the second-best across that period. Arsenal and Manchester City edged them, both with +12.
There is much to be encouraged by as attention begins to turn to 2026/27. The Reds want to be back to pushing for the European places next term, having got a taste for competing on the continent this time around.
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Pereira knows the value of work done in pre-season for laying the foundations ahead of the new campaign. He wants transfer business done early to ensure maximum time to work with the core of the dressing room.
By the time the ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers boss and his players reconvene, his own future should be sorted. Talks have taken place regarding a new contract, with the club showing their support for what Pereira has done. The hope is there is plenty more to come.
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