Vitor Pereira's message to Nottingham Forest players before Liverpool clash

Nottingham Forest made a winning start to Vitor Pereira's reign as head coach with a 3-0 victory over Fenerbahce in the first leg of the Europa League playoff on Thursday

Vitor Pereira is Nottingham Forest's new boss(Image: Getty Images)

Vitor Pereira refused to accept any personal praise as Nottingham Forest made an ideal start to his reign by defeating Fenerbahce 3-0 in the first leg of the Europa League playoff.

Forest placed itself in a commanding position to reach the last 16 of the competition with a convincing victory in Turkey. Thanks to strikes from Murillo, Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White, Forest will return to the City Ground for next week's second leg with a substantial advantage.

Forest's next game is against Liverpool at the City Ground on Sunday. It'll be Pereira's first Premier League match in charge of the Nottingham club, with plenty at stake.

Forest needs a win to boost its survival hopes, while Liverpool is looking to break into the Premier League's top four.

Pereira had enjoyed just a handful of days working with his new players before their journey to Istanbul. He became the club's fourth manager of the campaign when he succeeded Sean Dyche on Sunday.

"Very happy. Very happy for my players and for the supporters," Pereira said. "It was a win by the players and by the supporters, not by the manager.

Forest's Igor Jesus celebrates with his teammates(Image: Getty Images)

"I had just three days to prepare for the match, but they showed their quality.

"Especially in the first half, they showed their quality and their talent.

"When I analyzed the squad, I accepted the job because I believe in the quality of the players. I believe in the club, the president (owner Evangelos Marinakis) and the supporters.

"This is about confidence. I said to them, at the end of the game, we need to feel proud of ourselves for what we did and what we express. We cannot control the result, but we can control the effort."

Pereira added: "The difference is the way they started the game. This is mental.

"It is what I asked them, that mentally they must be ready to face a team in this stadium with the passion of their supporters.

"We needed to send a message to them from the first minute.

"The second game will be tough. We need to be ready mentally to face them again."