#managerial-change

#managerial-change

Pereira, who was sacked by Wolves in November after overseeing their dismal start to the 2025-26 campaign, has put pen to paper on an 18-month contract at the City Ground. The 57-year-old takes over a Forest side who sit 17th in the Premier League and three points clear of the bottom three, after playing out a goalless draw with Wolves in midweek. Forest were booed off at the City Ground having registered 35 shots against the division's bottom club, with 10 of those on target.

When the news cycle spins so fast, it's worth remembering where Brentford were in the summer. They had lost their popular manager of seven years, Thomas Frank. They had lost their two best forwards, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. They had lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken. And they had lost two stalwarts in Christian Nrgaard and Ben Mee (even if the latter's involvement the previous season had been limited as he turned 35).

We want to win. You can't go out there aiming for a draw. We take the field to win; you don't prepare matches to draw. My focus is clear: to bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match.

On Monday, Rennes announced they had sacked Habib Beye after a run of five games without a win in all competitions, which included an exit from the Coupe de France. Beye averaged 1.53 points in his 36 Ligue 1 matches, the fourth-highest tally, but with the club sixth in the table, he was surprisingly dismissed. The Senegalese coach held the second-highest win percentage (44.4% - 16/36) in the top flight with Rennes, behind only Bruno Genesio (49.5% - 49/99).

After weeks of pressure, tensions with some players and bad results -- including a 3-0 defeat at Club Brugge, which led to their exit from the Champions League, and a 5-0 thrashing by rivals Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday, it was felt De Zerbi's position had become untenable. The club's president, Pablo Longoria, sporting director Mehdi Benatia and De Zerbi conducted interviews with some players on Tuesday, sources said, and it was clear that the relationship between the manager and the squad was broken.

Teams don't always get the immediate 'bounce' anticipated from the arrival of a new manager. Éamonn Fitzmaurice routinely recalls 2013 when Kerry lost the first four Division 1 league games of his stewardship, only scoring an average of a little under eight points per game against Mayo, Dublin, Kildare and Donegal before turning the ship around in the final three games.

Manchester City are within touching distance of claiming their first Women's Super League (WSL) title in a decade, as they sit nine points clear at the top of the table with nine games left to play. That lead could stretch to 12 points -- the distance by which Chelsea won the league last season -- if City can secure a win over the defending champions this weekend, before they face a tricky test against Arsenal the following week.

The 'new manager bounce' is a phenomenon where a team has an upturn in form and performance after appointing a new manager. When a new coach takes over after a sustained period of poor results, it is often noticed that results and player performance improves. With Manchester United, Chelsea and Celtic sacking their managers in recent days, the clubs will be hoping that a switch of personnel can inspire results.

"I don't think he lost the changing room. The players have got to take responsibility. I had a chat [with them]- a few home truths. It's sad that Jimmy's lost his job, but the games are coming thick and fast and I've got to pick them up for tomorrow. It's a clean slate, a fresh start. I'll pick the team that I think is good enough to get a result."

Sunday's Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium came just three days after Chelsea parted company with Maresca in a shock move. While Liam Rosenior is reportedly a frontrunner to take charge, Calum McFarlane was tasked with overseeing the trip to face City, who were aiming to close the gap on leaders Arsenal. Instead, City are now six points back from the Gunners after Fernandez bundled home in the 94th minute.