Vitor Pereira says ‘points then pints’ tradition will continue at Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Newly-appointed Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira says his post-match tradition of grabbing a pint among the fans will continue at the City Ground, but only when he deserves it.

Pereira endeared himself to the people of Wolves during his 11-month stay in the Black Country by regularly celebrating his triumphs “with the people”, often appearing in local Wetherspoons by the train station after victories.

The Portuguese manager coined the phrase “first the points, then the pints" which would later adorn a banner at Molineux, with Wolves fans serenading him with the chant “We’ll see you in Spoons” when things were going the club’s way.

Pereira is now undertaking his second role in English football four months on from being sacked at Wolves, tasked with steering 17th-placed Forest towards safety.

And when asked if his “points then pints” custom will carry over from the West to East Midlands, he replied: "This is something about my personality.

"I'm not an actor, I'm a simple guy, an honest guy, confident and when I feel I deserve the pints - of course!"

Pereira is Forest’s fourth manager of the season following the sacking of Sean Dyche, with Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou also coming and going before him.

The 57-year-old has previously worked under volatile Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis at Olympiacos, guiding the Greek giants to a league and cup double in 2014/15.

But despite Marinakis’ tendency to chop and change at the drop of a hat, Pereira says he “trusts his personality”.

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Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is onto his fourth manager this season (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

"He is ambitious, he wants to win," Pereira said. "Emotional, I know him very well.

"The conversation was about our time in Olympiacos. I remember the energy and the fire we created, in Greece there is a fire inside, they like to see the energy.

"He asked me to be myself, he liked the way when we worked together we won the league and cup.

"It was in the middle of the season and we created a good relationship. He trusts my work, I trust his personality. I think we need passion too."

Despite being dismissed from his Molineux role in November with the club rock-bottom on two points, Pereira has been appointed off the back of his proven ability to avoid the drop, having done so with Wolves in 2024/25.

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Vitor Pereira helped guide Wolves to safety last season (PA Wire)

Pereira replaced Gary O'Neil with the objective of sparing the club from relegation in December 2024, with Wolves at the time sitting in 19th place with just nine points from 16 matches.

Wolves went on to comfortably survived demotion and ended the season 16th in the table, 17 points clear of 18th-placed Leicester City.

Pereira now inherits another team in the thick of a relegation battle, with Forest sitting three points above the bottom three with 12 games to go.

He added: “I prefer to speak about the present and the future. But you know this is a difficult season for the players, because it’s different methodologies, different managers.

“It’s not easy, but I believe the reason why I accept this job is because I believe in the quality of the players, because I believe in the potential of this club, the ambition of the president (Marinakis).

“Of course, I believe that it’s possible (to stay up). I believe that we can get points, results and quality in the games.”