Pereira wants to be Forest's new Clough but Emery has the knowhow

Forest take on Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday.

Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira during a press conference at the City Ground. Pic: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira says he does not want a statue in the city centre, but hopes to emulate Brian Clough by bringing European glory to the City Ground.

Forest take on Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final tonight, knowing that a first continental trophy since Clough masterminded back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 could be on the horizon.

Pereira would instantly write himself into Forest folklore if he could guide the club to the Europa League title, which would be a significant success considering it comes against the backdrop of a Premier League relegation battle.

“If we want to put our name in the history of this club, we need to get to the final, to win the final,” he said. “This is, of course, an inspiration for us. This is a big chance to move forward.

“This week I went into the city centre and I saw the statue of the big manager of this club. I don’t want my statue anywhere but we can imagine what he was in this city.

“He’s in the city centre because he did something fantastic that stays in the heart of these people until now.

“For the new generations, for sure it’s an inspiration for us. We try to do our best to work to emulate what he did.” 

Pereira also made a point of paying tribute to Nuno Espirito Santo, who qualified Forest for the Europa League and began their journey, and Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche who both won games in this competition during their spells in charge: "First of all I need to speak about the managers before me who played in the Europa League, who helped get to this moment. This is not about me, it's about the club."

Forest face a tough challenge in the last four with the double-header against Villa, who are also looking to end a long trophy drought.

Villa have a man who can at the helm, though, as Unai Emery has won four Europa League titles and Villa are the favourites heading into the tie.

“I want to be there and to enjoy and to compete, because I like to compete,” Pereira added. “I’ll face a top, top manager with his team, the king of Europa League, because he has four trophies.

“It will be a very great challenge for us.

“We have to compete with the true spirit of a champion.

“This is what we need to be: champions, looking to be the best version of ourselves, to have the support, to feel the support of our fans and to compete.” 

Forest’s relegation worries have eased in recent weeks after handsome wins over Burnley and Sunderland but they will be without Murillo (hamstring) while Ibrahim Sangare and Dan Ndoye missed training on Wednesday, with Pereira coy on whether they would be fit.

Meanwhile, with a summer of change on the horizon at Villa Park, with plenty outgoings and signings expected, striker Ollie Watkins suggested winning the Europa League would be a fitting way to end a cycle.

“The thing is with squads, they change every year, no matter, players always leave,” he said. “This is the only moment we’re going to have with all the same players in the dressing room.

“We need to do everything we can to get to the end. It’s not going to be easy.

“Forest have picked up some momentum, they are in a good moment and they will do all they can to shut us down and win the game.” 

Emery might be chasing his fifth Europa League title, but the Spaniard also wants to write a new piece of history.

“I have my own experiences before in this competition and different momentum as well,” he said. “But it is completely different.

“In football, everything you have done before, though it may be fantastic, is done.

“Now is a new chapter and I want to write a new chapter here. The most important experiences are the ones we have here together.

“Our experiences are a semi-final in the Conference League, quarter-final in Champions League. We must try to learn with our experiences, to respond better than we did.”