Vitor Pereira admitted Nottingham Forest’s packed schedule has been a challenge for his players ahead of their trip to Premier League title hopefuls Manchester City.
Forest’s 2-1 loss at Brighton last time out kept them 17th, just two points above the relegation zone, as they failed to capitalise on relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United also dropping points.
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Both the narrow league defeat to the Seagulls and Liverpool followed Europa League playoff round ties against Fenerbahce, stretching the team’s capacity to perform domestically in Pereira’s first few weeks in charge.
Indeed, the 57-year-old former Wolves boss bemoaned the demanding fixture list as of late.
He said: “I’m not the kind of person who tries to find excuses but it’s not easy to play four games in 12 days because they are not machines.
“The speed is there but to play with intensity and to play with pressing that I like to see with quality and the movements, we need fresh legs and fresh minds.
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He still rightly remained upbeat with the current trajectory of Forest’s performances, saying his squad has the quality to compete and sharing that he is “very positive” as a result.
Fighting successfully on two fronts certainly formed a major part of the ambitious remit set by the Nottingham Forest owner upon Pereira’s arrival.
The former Wolves boss, who has now overseen four games in charge of The Tricky Trees, echoed that sentiment and declared he was fully aware of the challenges he would face.
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Pereira said: “This is an ambitious club with an ambitious president, we want to move forward in the Europa League but we want with everything to be in the Premier League next season.
“Before I accepted the job, I looked through the schedule. I looked and I knew that it would be tough but a very good challenge.”
Forest will have more than a week of rest before next Thursday’s Europa League match against FC Midtjylland for Pereira to transmit his messages and refine any tactical approaches.
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However, they could tumble into the drop zone for the first time this season should West Ham United overcome the more achievable task of winning at Fulham.
Their opponents on Wednesday night, Manchester City, have an incentive themselves as they strive to keep on the coattails of league leaders Arsenal, making Forest’s objective to put points on the board another tall order.
Stefan Ortega received treatment for a calf issue in the second leg of the Europa League tie against Fenerbahce and was absent from the squad that travelled to Brighton.
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Pereira confirmed the goalkeeper, who signed from Wednesday night’s opponents Manchester City in the winter transfer window, will be unavailable to face his former employers.
Matz Sels returned slightly earlier than advised for the weekend’s loss to Brighton, with Pereira sharing his thought process behind installing him between the sticks with backup goalkeeper Angus Gunn fit to start.
“We had a conversation with Sels trying to explain that we need him at this moment,” he said.
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“We know it’s not the time because he needed a few more days to be fit and in shape.
“But in the end, he’s a leader, has a strong character, and he wants to help the team, so he decided to accept the challenge and take the risk between him, me, and the medical department to play the game.”
Nottingham Forest’s clash with City kicks off tomorrow at 19:30 (GMT), with coverage live on TNT Sports 4.