Vitor Pereira has been named as Nottingham Forest’s new head coach as they look to avoid Premier League relegation this season.
The 57-year-old has signed an 18-month contract at the City Ground and replaces Sean Dyche who was sacked in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Pereira has experience of managing in the Premier League, having been at Wolves earlier this campaign before being dismissed in November.
He quickly emerged as the preferred option to replace Dyche, having worked previously under Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis at Greek club Olympiacos.
In joining Forest, the Portuguese becomes their fourth head coach this season – a Premier League record – following – who is now in charge of West Ham, and Ange Postecoglou. Dyche then joined in October before being given his marching orders after a goalless home draw with Wolves on Thursday.
Pereira’s first game in charge will be the Europa League play-off first leg against Fenerbahce in Istanbul on February 19.
Nottingham Forest statement on hiring Vitor Pereira
‘Nottingham Forest is delighted to confirm that Vítor Pereira has been appointed as head coach on an 18-month deal,’ the club’s statement began on Sunday afternoon.
‘Pereira began his managerial career in his homeland, Portugal, in 2002. After gaining extensive experience across the country, he took over Porto in 2011, where a hugely successful two-year spell saw him lead the club to back-to-back league titles.
‘Having spent time at Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia, Periera then moved to Olympiacos in January 2015 and went on to win the double with the Piraeus side.
‘Adding to his wealth of experience at the top level around the world, Pereira has also managed Fenerbahce in Turkey and Chinese Super League Club Shanghai SIPG, guiding the latter to their first ever league title in his debut campaign, before then winning the Chinese Super Cup. He has also had spells in charge of Brazilian clubs Corinthians and Flamengo.
‘Most recently, he was Head Coach of Premier League club Wolves. Taking over with club in the relegation zone, Pereira led them to a six-game winning run which helped guide them to safety during the 2024-25 season. It was the longest winning run of any team in the top-flight last season, in a campaign which also saw Wolves score a club record number of goals in the Premier League.
‘The 57-year-old now heads to Trentside on a deal that runs until the summer of 2027.
‘He will be joined by coaching staff Filipe Jorge Monteiro Almeida (Assistant Coach), Luis Miguel Moreira Da Silva (Assistant Coach), Bruno Filipe Araujo De Moura (Head of Physical Performance and Opposition Analysis), and Pedro Simao Capela Silva Lopes (Opposition Analyst).’
