Jorge Jesus looks ahead to the Portuguese Cup fourth round hosting of Praiense

Sporting CP will host Praiense in Estádio José Alvalade this Thursday night, in the Portuguese Cup 4th round. Despite the prospect of an easier night against lower league opposition, coach Jorge Jesus has still been pushing his squad hard on the training pitch.

"Every team loves this competition. We all want to get to the final, because it is such a great day out for the team and the fans. Praiense hae won eight of their last 10 games in the league and they are doing some good stuff. Honestly, we have a lot more to lose than they do. We will show respect for our opponent and we have been working as hard as we did for Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid", opened the Sporting coach, going on to reflect on the recent international break that saw 12 of his players absent: "We have used the break to push the pace a bit for the lads. Players like Alan Ruiz, Castaignos, Elias and some of the others have benefited from that. We will make changes of course, especially because some of the players haven't actually arrived back yet."

Gelson Martins has been one of the stand-out performers of the season and the youngster certainly hasn't been missing of Jesus's radar: "He is a young lad who is still growing tactically, physically and emotionally. He knows exactly what it means to play for Sporting and a lot of the lads his age who get so much attention don't know how to deal with it. He just has to keep working hard during the week like he always does, because he is certainly blessed with talent. If that isn't enough then we are here to support him."

The return of Jonathan Silva has also been floated by the rumour mill this week and Jorge Jesus was more than happy to share his thoughts: "I was more than happy with the possibility of him going back to Argentina so he could be selected for the Olympic Games, which is something we both wanted for him. He has been playing with Boca, who are a great side, and we have a lot of faith in him."