Exclusive: Nottingham Forest eye next manager appointment, full Vitor Pereira plan emerges
Vitor Pereira is likely to be sacked by Nottingham Forest in the summer if they are relegated from the Premier League, sources have told Football Insider.
The Portuguese has a clear mandate to keep the Reds in the top-flight, and there has been no long-term focus given to him by the club hierarchy at the moment.
Pereira is familiar with owner Evangelos Marinakis and the methods that he employs, but sources have also indicated to Football Insider that there are plans for another change in the dugout if Forest drop into the Championship ahead of next term.
The East Midlands outfit are currently three points clear of West Ham in the final relegation place, with Pereira set to take charge of his first game in the Europa League clash with Fenerbahce on Thursday.
Vitor Pereira’s first five games compared to West Ham
Pereira made a big impact at Wolves to keep them in the Premier League last season, and Forest are hoping that he can spark a similar upturn in fortunes this time around.
The 57-year-old has been out of work since he was shown the door at Molineux back in November, after a dismal start to the campaign left the Black Country outfit winless following their opening 10 league games.
| Forest | West Ham |
| Liverpool (H) | Bournemouth (H) |
| Brighton (A) | Liverpool (A) |
| Manchester City (A) | Fulham (A) |
| Fulham (H) | Manchester City (H) |
| Tottenham (A) | Aston Villa (A) |
Pereira’s first assignment with his new club comes in European action in midweek, but then all attention will quickly turn towards Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool, with West Ham getting the chance to deal the first blow of the weekend when they face Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Irons and the Reds have similar fixtures in their next five league games, as they both face clashes with Liverpool, Manchester City and Fulham.
It is vital that Forest collect a favourable points return from their upcoming run compared to their rivals from East London, or Pereira could easily find his team inside the bottom three before he has even truly got his feet under the table.
- Read More: Morgan Gibbs-White: Nottingham Forest exit ‘inevitable’, trio lead chase amid Tottenham reveal
Morgan Gibbs-White exit ‘inevitable’ as part of Nottingham Forest exodus
Football Insider revealed last week that Morgan Gibbs-White’s departure from Forest will be “inevitable” this summer if they are relegated, as interest mounts from the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa.
The England hopeful has been a key player for the Reds once again this term after they nearly lost him last summer, but it will be impossible for them to keep him if they fail to beat the drop in the coming months.
The likes of Murillo and Elliot Anderson are also attracting strong interest from the Premier League’s elite, as the vultures begin to circle around the City Ground ahead of the run-in to the end of the campaign.
Gibbs-White’s future is under an ever-increasing level of scrutiny as the season nears its conclusion, and he could easily form part of a mass exodus if the team do not preserve their top-flight status.