Nottingham Forest have identified Vitor Pereira as a strong candidate to replace Sean Dyche and become their fourth manager of the season.
Dyche was sacked after the goalless draw against bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday. It is the third time Forest have dismissed a coach this season after the sackings of Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou. The side have won three of their last 13 games in all competitions and are 17th in the league, just three points above the relegation zone.
Pereira has been out of work since he was sacked by Wolves in November after failing to win any of their first 10 Premier League games of the season. However, the Portuguese was widely credited with saving Wolves from relegation after his appointment in December 2024 sparked a significant improvement in results.
Pereira last managed Wolves (Dan Istitene/Getty Images
The 57-year-old is also well known to Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis after a brief yet successful spell with Olympiacos (who Marinakis also owns) in the 2014-15 season, culminating in them winning a Greek league and cup double.
Forest confirmed Dyche’s departure early on Thursday morning. “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,” Forest said in a statement.
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… pic.twitter.com/q6LPADIsDw
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 12, 2026
After the Wolves game, Dyche said that it was up to Forest owner Marinakis whether he made a managerial change.
“People can demand change, and then it’s always up to owners whether they change or not,” he said.
“I just work very hard. I care about this club. I’ve made that clear. I’m working very hard. I’m not saying the players are not, by the way, but we certainly are as a staff, that’s what you do. You know, we work very hard.
“If the owner wants to make a change, then that’s up to him, and that’s the way football is now, that’s just the reality of it.”
The 54-year-old was appointed by Forest in October to replace Postecoglou, who was in charge of eight games and failed to win any of them. Postecoglou had been appointed after the sacking of Nuno on September 8, less than a month into the season. Nuno had led Forest to a seventh-place finish in the 2024-25 campaign and qualified for European football, though he said in August that his relationship with Marinakis had changed. The Athletic reported that there was a rift between the head coach and Edu, Forest’s global head of football.
Following Postecoglou’s winless run, Forest made contact with former Manchester City and Italy manager Roberto Mancini and considered an approach for Fulham’s Marco Silva before eventually focusing on Dyche, a former Forest youth player. It was his first managerial role since being sacked by Everton in January 2025.
Forest defeated Porto 2-0 in the Europa League in Dyche’s first game in charge and oversaw a 12th-place finish in the league phase of the competition, with the team taking on Fenerbahce over two legs in the play-off round. However, Dyche won only six of his 18 Premier League games in charge and his side were eliminated in the FA Cup third round by Championship club Wrexham on penalties.
Forest travel to Fenerbahce in their next game on February 19.
Where does this leave Forest?
Forest’s clash with Wolves had been billed as a must-win game for Dyche — and they could only muster a 0-0 draw that felt more like a defeat.
The City Ground crowd made their feelings known as a grim mood descended on the banks of the Trent at the final whistle, with Dyche going down the tunnel to a chorus of boos from the stands.
It proved to be the final time he was to return to the home dressing room as manager.
Now Marinakis must appoint a fourth manager of a remarkable, chaotic campaign. And it is partly chaos of the club’s own making.
Marinakis is now looking for his fourth head coach of the season (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Nuno — the man who led them back into Europe for the first time in 30 years — departed in September, after a very public falling-out in which he questioned his relationship with Marinakis and global head of football Edu.
Then former Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou lasted only 39 disastrous days. Dyche has only been in charge since October, lasting under four months in the job.
Now Marinakis must appoint another manager, who will bring a style all of his own. Forest need to get this one right, as they sit three points above the relegation zone.
