Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Thursday’s Europa League play-off first leg at Fenerbahce (kick-off 17:45 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
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Pereira confirmed defender Murillo has trained with the side and is in contention for Thursday’s game. However, Stefan Ortega has replaced Matz Sels in the Europa League squad, although the new boss insisted the goalkeeper’s injury is not long term and he is “recovering well”.
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The head coach, who has joined on an 18-month contract, says he is “very confident” about the role because that is “my character, my personality”, and added: “I recognise the quality in my players, in the squad. We just need the click, the win, to start to be more confident.”
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On his first days at the club and what he can change for this game: “The most important thing is my opinion. In two days, you cannot come with a lot of information. You must be intelligent to give a clear message here tactically. You know I like to play tactically in a way, and this is something that cannot change in two days.”
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Pereira added: “Since the first day, I believe we can start to create identity, this is the way we want to play, and if players buy the idea and they feel they can be important in the idea then this is the way to achieve our target.”
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On playing in the atmosphere of a stadium like Fenerbahce’s: “For the players, this is the atmosphere that they enjoy to play in. They enjoy to play in this kind of energy. For me, it is a pleasure to be here and to face a team with passion and to show our passion, show our energy, show our ambition. To play with courage and organisation.”
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Asked about the difficulty of playing with that courage in their current run of form, he responded: “Since the first day you can start to give this energy to them. I believe that a team absorbs a lot of the passion and personality of the manager. We need to think about the game tomorrow as an opportunity to show our qualities, to prove ourselves, and to be proud at end of game with what we did.”
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Having had two spells at Fenerbahce, Pereira knows they are facing a “tough game” but is also expecting one with “quality” as there is “a lot talent on the pitch”.
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[BBC]