Nottingham Forest Fire Sean Dyche, Eye ‘Strong Candidate’ for Fourth Manager of 2025–26

Forest lie in 17th place, just three points clear of the relegation zone with 12 games of the season remaining.

Sean Dyche only lasted 114 days at Nottingham Forest. | Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images

Nottingham Forest have reportedly opened talks with former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Vitor Pereira after confirming the sacking of Sean Dyche in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Dyche had only been appointed 114 days earlier and oversaw notable wins against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as progression to the Europa League knockout stages. However, Forest endured a dip in form over recent weeks. They are winless in February, dropping points to a struggling Crystal Palace before losing to fellow relegation battlers Leeds United.

Wednesday night brought a goalless stalemate with rock-bottom Wolves, a game in which Forest rattled off 35 shots—the most recorded by any Premier League side without scoring since 2016. It proved to be the final straw.

Three hours after kick off, half an hour after midnight U.K. time, Forest posted a painfully brief statement amounting to no more than 57 words. “Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach,” it read.

“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 comment at this time.”

The search for Dyche’s successor, who would represent Forest’s fourth manager of the 2025–26 campaign, is well under way already.

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Vitor Pereira Emerging as Nottingham Forest’s Standout Candidate

Vitor Pereira has already been sacked this season. | David Rogers/Getty Images

The opening weekend of the season, when Forest earned a 3–1 win over Brentford with Nuno Espírito Santo at the helm, feels an awfully long time ago. The immensely popular Portuguese coach would only be afforded the first three matches of the Premier League season before his strained relationship with club owner Evangelos Marinakis ultimately led to his departure in September.

Ange Postecoglou was promptly ushered in as an entirely unlikely successor. A proud advocate of a dramatically different type of football, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss swiftly lost his debut to Arsenal. It set the tone. Of Postecoglou’s eight matches in charge, he lost six and drew two. A pitiful tally of just 39 days at the helm stands as the second-shortest managerial reign in Premier League history.

Dyche lasted almost four months. During the time he spent in charge of his boyhood club, the former Forest academy hopeful racked up 22 points in 18 Premier League games, the 12th-best record of any side in the division. Nevertheless, Dyche departed the club with Forest in 17th, just three points above a resurgent West Ham United inside the relegation zone.

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2025–26 Nottingham Forest Managers

Manager	2025–26 Games	2025–26 Wins
Nuno Espírito Santo	3	1
Ange Postecoglou	8	0
Sean Dyche	25	10

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In their search for an unprecedented fourth permanent manager during the same campaign, Forest are thought to consider Pereira a “strong candidate,” as first reported by The Athletic.

The Portuguese coach steered Wolves clear of the drop last season, engendering a fervent spirit within the fanbase by going to local pubs in the aftermath of victories. “First the points, then the points” became Pereira’s catchphrase.

The mood turned sour this season when Pereira left the club in November after failing to win any of his first 10 matches in charge. He has been out of work since.

Pereira, who has experience of Marinakis’s unique style at Olympiacos, the Greek club he also has a controlling stake within, is already in dialogue with Forest over a potential appointment, per BBC Sport.

Having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Wrexham in the third round, Forest are not in action again until the first leg of their Europa League playoff against Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe on Thursday, Feb. 19.

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