Unity, belief and ‘gato e rato’: Inside Victor Pereira’s Nottingham Forest revival | OneFootball

In Nottingham Forest’s warm-ups, playground tag, known locally as dobby and in Portugal as gato e rato, now sets the tone. Vitor Pereira’s emphasis on smiles, simplicity and togetherness has anchored a marked revival.

According to NY Times, after arriving in February his first task was to restore belief and collective organisation. Since then no Premier League side has scored more, with 16 goals, level with Liverpool.

The day starts light then turns demanding, and on the eve of matches players pick the training-ground music. Pereira frames the squad as his second family and wants confidence to replace tension.

Meetings are short and direct, training drills mirror match scenarios, and roles are defined. Set-piece coach Luis Miguel drew praise at Sunderland, where three of five goals came from routines, with colleagues focused on player development and opposition analysis.

A familiar 4-2-3-1 has been tweaked. Morgan Gibbs-White now starts slightly wider, Igor Jesus plays behind a fit-again Chris Wood. At Sunderland Jesus scored and made two, and he and Gibbs-White have 31 goals.

Balancing Europe with survival has meant rotation, with 14 matches leading to a semi-final against Aston Villa, first leg at the City Ground on Thursday. James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa, Nicolas Dominguez and Ryan Yates featured. An eight-game unbeaten run has strengthened their position, with Chelsea next Monday. After four managers this season and his November exit from Wolves, scepticism lingered, but consecutive wins over Porto, Burnley and Sunderland and fist-pumps in the north east have shifted the mood.

Source: NY Times