{"id":426881,"date":"2026-02-15T10:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T10:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426881\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T10:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T10:46:09","slug":"the-nottingham-forest-players-with-a-point-to-prove-under-vitor-pereira-as-season-hangs-in-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426881\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nottingham Forest players with a point to prove under Vitor Pereira as season hangs in balance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nottingham Forest hope a change in manager can ensure they secure Premier League survival<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"James McAtee in action for Nottingham Forest\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0_James-McAtee-in-action-for-Nottingham-Forest-against-Ferencvaros.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"James McAtee in action for Nottingham Forest\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">James McAtee in action for Nottingham Forest(Image: PA)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Nottingham Forest hope a change in the dugout can be the difference in their battle for <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/barclays-premier-league\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Premier League<\/a> survival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Four managers in one season is new territory for a top-flight club. <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/evangelos-marinakis\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis<\/a> has staked big on it working out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Earlier this week, <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/football-news\/nottingham-forest-sean-dyche-sacked-10809813\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Sean Dyche became the latest boss dismissed<\/a> from the City Ground hot seat. Wednesday night\u2019s 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers ended his 114-day tenure Trentside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/football-news\/nottingham-forest-nuno-sean-dyche-10812750\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Nuno Espirito Santo was moved on three games into the campaign<\/a> and Ange Postecoglou was axed after just 39 days. Vitor Pereira is the next man in line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Help us stay visible by adding us as <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/news\/nottingham-news\/more-nottinghamshire-live-exclusives--10711579\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">a Preferred Source<\/a> in your search settings<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Portuguese will be tasked with <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/football-news\/nottingham-forest-premier-league-points-10813127\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">ensuring Forest stay above the dreaded dotted line.<\/a> He will have to navigate that challenge alongside playing in the Europa League as the Reds prepare for a two-legged play-off with Fenerbahce this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/sean-dyche\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Dyche<\/a> tended to turn to his second sting for European games as he made the league the priority. In general, he relied upon a core group of players he trusted to deliver and was reluctant to look beyond that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Some players who found themselves out of favour under the previous regime will no doubt hope their fortunes change with a new man in charge. Below, NottinghamshireLive looks at some of the potential winners and losers at Forest under <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/vitor-pereira\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Pereira.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Winners<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Jair Cunha: Part of the starting XI on that miserable Friday night against Wrexham in January. Unlike others in the side, survived being hooked early as the visitors were dumped out of the FA Cup but hasn\u2019t had a kick since.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The third-round tie was the Brazilian\u2019s third appearance for the club since his summer move from Botafogo. When he was handed his sole Premier League run-out, by <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/ange-postecoglou\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Postecoglou<\/a> away to Newcastle United in October, he had given a good account of himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dyche clearly didn\u2019t rate him but perhaps Pereira will give him a chance. If Forest switch to a back three at some point, that could work in <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/jair-cunha\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">the 20-year-old\u2019s<\/a> favour.<\/p>\n<p>Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/DxjYRCZzWqbBzwWJTI4Iqe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">here<\/a> and select \u2018Join Community\u2019 to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click &#8216;Exit Group&#8217;. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reachplc.com\/site-services\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">James McAtee: So far, <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/james-mcatee\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">the former Manchester City man<\/a> hasn\u2019t exactly pulled up many trees since his \u00a330 million switch. But he was superb in his last outing, against Ferencvaros.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">McAtee scored a late penalty in that game <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/match-reports\/nottingham-forest-player-ratings-ferencvaros-10784793\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">to round off an excellent showing at the City Ground.<\/a> At the time, it seemed as though that could be the kickstart for his Forest career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It hasn\u2019t panned out that way, though. Rather bafflingly, given his confidence would have been high, he has spent the past three games as an unused substitute. Maybe Pereira can be the man to really get the 23-year-old going.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dilane Bakwa: Plenty of the Reds squad <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/football-news\/nottingham-forest-vitor-pereira-job-10811973\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">are in need of an arm around them and a boost of spirits. <\/a>No one more so than Bakwa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Like McAtee, he has struggled to really show what he can do in the Garibaldi. <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/dilane-bakwa\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">The winger <\/a>also hasn\u2019t been involved since that Ferencvaros game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Almost any time he has been handed some minutes, the 23-year-old looks like a man whose confidence is shot to pieces. He is clearly finding it difficult to adapt and is in need of a guiding hand, along with some good man-management.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!<a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Nottinghamforestnews#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\"> Get all the Nottingham Forest latest via our Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Losers<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Lorenzo Lucca: Forest will hope <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/match-reports\/nottingham-forest-player-ratings-wolves-10809759\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">the Italian\u2019s miss against Wolves in midweek<\/a> does not go down as one of the defining moments of the season. They had numerous other chances on the night, but to not take advantage of a six on one break was a huge source of frustration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">For some reason, the hosts played the ball to the 6ft 7in striker\u2019s feet more than many had expected. After all, he had scored with his head when he <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/match-reports\/nottingham-forest-player-ratings-leeds-10800605\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">came off the bench at Leeds United.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Pereira will need to get Forest firing on all cylinders to get them away from danger. He will need to get the best out of Lucca and <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/igor-jesus\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Igor Jesus <\/a>&#8211; with the latter struggling for goals in the league. Taiwo Awoniyi will hope he plays a part, too, and the Reds will certainly be hoping Chris Wood returns from injury soon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Lucca will surely have a role to play in the remaining games. He seemed very much like a Dyche player, though, so it will be interesting to see how he is utilised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Nicolas Dominguez: With Ibrahim Sangare and <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/elliot-anderson\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Elliot Anderson<\/a> the first-choice midfield pairing under Dyche, the Argentine often found himself deployed out wide. Other than against Leeds, he generally did a decent job there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He had a poor game at Elland Road, though. He can usually be relied upon to fulfil his defensive duties but he left youngster Zach Abbott exposed at right-back on that occasion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/all-about\/nicolas-dominguez\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Dominguez<\/a> was then dropped to the bench on Wednesday. He may have his work cut out to force his way into the new manager\u2019s plans as surely there will be no breaking up the Sangare-Anderson axis.<\/p>\n<p>Who are the winners and losers under Pereira?<a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampost.com\/sport\/football\/football-news\/nottingham-forest-vitor-pereira-squad-10813710#comments-wrapper\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\"> Click HERE to have your say<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nottingham Forest hope a change in manager can ensure they secure Premier League survival James McAtee in action&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2628,34174,2600,218,156148,3090,143735,156600,16358,20423,101,56,54,55,88603],"class_list":["post-426881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-barclays-premier-league","tag-dilane-bakwa","tag-europa-league","tag-football","tag-jair-cunha","tag-james-mcatee","tag-lorenzo-lucca","tag-nicolas-dominguez","tag-nottingham-forest-fc","tag-sean-dyche","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-vitor-pereira"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}