Boavista In October 2012, Petit was appointed
player-coach of Boavista, becoming the full-time manager in the following season. The club returned to the top flight for administrative reasons in
2014, and on his professional managerial debut he lost 1–0 at home to Benfica on 24 August. On 28 November 2015, Petit left the hotseat at the
Estádio do Bessa for personal motives.
Tondela Eleven days after leaving Boavista, Petit was appointed at
Tondela for
their first top-division campaign. He was the last of three coaches in charge, as the team avoided relegation in the last matchday. Subsequently, Petit signed a new deal to last until 2018, but left on 8 January 2017 after a 1–2 home loss to
Arouca.
Four appointments in two years In March 2017, Petit was hired at
Moreirense with the goal of keeping them in the main division, and left two months later by mutual consent when that
was achieved. On 23 October,
Paços de Ferreira hired him in an attempt to preserve their place in the top tier, and he left by his own accord the following January. Petit returned to Moreirense in February 2018 as their third manager of
the season, and left again after keeping them up. He was appointed manager of
Marítimo on 27 November, on a contract lasting until the end of
the campaign. He left the
Madeiran club at its conclusion, as it did not exercise the option of another year.
B-SAD On 15 January 2020, Petit was hired by his sixth Portuguese top-division side, becoming the third coach of
B-SAD's campaign as they were one point above the relegation zone. He
reached the quarter-finals of the
Taça de Portugal in his one
complete season, being eliminated 3–0 at Benfica. On 19 October 2021, having needed a goal in the last minute of extra time to defeat minnows
Berço in
the cup, he resigned with eight months of his contract remaining; the team had earned four points and no wins in the first eight games of the
league campaign.
Return to Boavista Petit returned to Boavista on 2 December 2021, on a deal until 2023. Two weeks later, he took the club to the
Taça da Liga semi-finals for the
first time following a 5–1 home rout of
Braga; on 5 February, his contract was extended for another year. At the end of a 1–1 home draw with Marítimo on 9 October 2022, Petit was sent off for insults towards the refereeing team and fined €1,632. He was suspended for the following game, a 1–0 loss in the
third round of the cup away to fourth-tier
Machico. Petit resigned on 11 December 2023, following a 3–1 league loss at
Estrela da Amadora that was his side's fifth in a row; it was accepted the following day.
Cuiabá On 1 May 2024, Petit took over as coach of
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club
Cuiabá. On 27 August, following a 5–0 loss to
Palmeiras as part of an eight-match winless run, he resigned.
Rio Ave Petit became manager of
Rio Ave on 6 November 2024, agreeing to a short-term contract that could be renewed until June 2026. The following 17 May, however, having finished
11th in the league on 38 points and
reached the semi-finals of the domestic cup, he was told he would not be retained.
Santa Clara On 3 February 2026, Petit replaced
Vasco Matos at the helm of
Santa Clara, placed 16th in the top division. ==Career statistics==