Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has hailed his team’s performance after they sealed a dominant 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday to move above the drop zone and boost their survival chances.
The Tricky Trees started the day in 17th place but swapped places with their hosts after recording a remarkable win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It capped a memorable win for the club, following their stunning victory over Midtjylland in the Europa League in midweek as they overturned a first-leg deficit to advance to the last eight of the competition.
Igor Jesus opened the scoring in the first half, before Morgan Gibbs-White, who almost joined Spurs last summer, added a second goal in the second half.
Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi came off the bench to score his side’s third goal of the match to seal an impressive win.
Related: Awoniyi scores as Nottingham Forest seal big win at Tottenham Hotspur
Nottingham Forest climbed to 16th on the Premier League standings with 32 points, two ahead of Tottenham in 17th and three above West Ham United with only seven games to go.
Pereira reacts to Nottingham Forest’s win over Spurs
Pereira, who only joined Forest in February as their fourth permanent manager of the season, was impressed with their overall display after his side delivered a stunning result.
Speaking after the match, the former Wolves manager expressed satisfaction with their performance and hoped for more as they look to secure their top-flight status at the end of the season.
“It is not just about this game, it’s about the next seven games. We need to have this personality, playing with our arguments, with the ball because we have quality. Good for the momentum, good for the belief because we need to believe in ourselves”, Pereira stated.
“It’s about us, it’s not about Tottenham, or West Ham or Leeds. It’s not about them, it’s about us and what we can do as a team, what we want to be as a team, what we want to be as a player, what we want for our life and the next season.
“In the end, if we have the spirit to sacrifice ourselves to give everything on the pitch to achieve our goals… We are committed and ready to fight”, the former Wolves boss added.
“A good week for us. Difficult game. We started in a good level with the ball, trying to play in our way, but after 20 minutes we started to play their way. It was difficult for us.
“But in the end, we didn’t concede a goal. Some luck, I can accept. A lot of spirit”, he concluded.
Nottingham Forest return to action on April 12 in the Premier League when they face Champions League chasing Aston Villa, hoping for another win to continue their rise up the standings.
