Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White said his side played with a “real identity” as new boss Vitor Pereira’s reign began with a 3-0 Europa League romp at Fenerbahce.
Pereira was taking charge of Forest for the first time after he became their fourth manager of a chaotic season and it could not have gone better as they took a decisive lead in the playoff round first leg in Istanbul.
Goals from Murillo, Igor Jesus and Gibbs-White made it a memorable night for Forest as life after Sean Dyche began in free-scoring fashion.
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In perhaps a veiled dig at Dyche, Gibbs-White said on TNT Sports: “I felt like we had a real identity out there today.
“I think his message to us is that we’re going to have a real identity of how we play and how we defend as a team.
“I feel like him and his staff have brought a real positive energy into the group and we’ve all bought into what he wants straight away. And I think that’s the most important thing, buying into each other and understanding each other.
“I think we’ve got a little bit of that already and I think we showed out there abundance today. So, it’s about keeping learning off each other. Keep learning and then taking it game by game.”
The victory means that, barring a disaster in next week’s second leg at the City Ground, Forest will earn a last-16 tie against Real Betis or Midtjylland.
Pereira’s main brief in his new role is to ensure Forest retain their Premier League status and this performance should give confidence going into Sunday’s home game with Liverpool.
“You want to enjoy every moment as a player,” Gibbs-White added. “It can be difficult as footballer to enjoy moments because of how quick the games come up. We can enjoy it and then prepare for Liverpool at the weekend.
“We have been going through a difficult time, confidence is the main thing and tonight will boost confidence. We just have to stay together and be the most complete team.”
Pereira said he was pleased with what he saw from his new side and is confident he can get enough out of them reach Premier League safety.
“The quality of the players [I liked the most]. I asked them to express themselves on the pitch. They did it,” he said.
“I realised before I came that the players have a lot of quality. They need results but they need to enjoy the game.
“If they enjoy the way they are playing they can have a high level. They need just organisation and confidence.
“Of course I am [confident]. We will try match by match to win the next match. It will be very difficult.
“It is not easy to come here and score three goals and not concede a goal. Next game will be a different game and we need to be consistent.”