It would be no surprise if Vitor Pereira started walking on the River Trent, given the miraculous work he’s done at Nottingham Forest.
A few weeks back, it seemed for all the world that the walls – and more accurately, West Ham – were closing in on Forest, with Nuno Espirito Santo ready to hand the Reds the ultimate humiliation.
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However, something has clicked with Pereira at Forest and ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second-leg with Aston Villa, the Reds are 10 matches unbeaten and have won five consecutive games in all competitions.
Pereira has made a mockery of those who came before him in the hot seat, and with largely the same personnel, he’s managed to get a tune out of the squad, playing West Ham at their own game.
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Vitor Pereira’s flexible 4-4-2 has shown Nuno Espirito Santo how it’s done
Having Chris Wood back has been ideal for Forest for more reasons than his obvious goalscoring capabilities.
The 20-goal striker from last season has missed six months of this season, and having him back has been brilliant for Pereira.
Wood scored in games against Sunderland and Aston Villa, but it’s not just his goals that has helped Pereira pull Forest close to safety.
With Callum Hudson-Odoi out injured, Pereira has often taken the chance to get Wood on the pitch with Igor Jesus, creating a 4-4-2 system in possession for Forest.
Ironically, it’s the same system that Espirito Santo started to deploy after West Ham’s defeat to Forest in January – only Pereira is utilising it better.
In recent weeks, West Ham have looked blunt, failing to score in away games with Brentford and Crystal Palace and watching on as Forest bagged three at Tottenham, five at Sunderland and three at Chelsea.
It’s been clear that there is a lot of quality in the Forest squad, and now Pereira has started to unleash their full potential, much to the dismay of West Ham and even Tottenham as they battle it out to avoid relegation.
On Monday, Jesus played alongside Taiwo Awoniyi, and frankly, despite the eight changes made to the team, Forest looked organised and well-versed when it came to a 4-4-2 system.
Forest now close to Premier League survival
West Ham are still only a point behind Tottenham, but with title-chasing Arsenal to play next, the Hammers will feel they really need to win on a weekend when Spurs face Leeds at home.
By the time the Hammers play, Forest could actually leave them needing snookers to catch the Reds, with Newcastle arriving at Trentside hours before that huge London Stadium clash.
Pereira has played Espirito Santo at his own game a little bit, but given the results of late, it probably proves that the Reds have a squad capable of challenging much higher up the league table.
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The good thing about Pereira is that he’s not resting on the 42 points that Forest have accumulated so far and wants more points from the three remaining games.
In Pereira, Forest will feel they have a coach with very similar man-management principles to Espirito Santo.
However, given that both bosses have been using a flexible 4-4-2 of late, there’s a growing sense around the City Ground that Pereira might just be a little bit more clued up than Espirito Santo.
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