The coach is determined ahead of the Sunday derby

Sporting Clube de Portugal visit SL Benfica on Sunday on the 16th matchday of the Liga Portugal season, and coach Rúben Amorim gave a preview press conference for the big derby. In it, he began by ensuring that his side "are motivated" to recover from the defeat away to CS Marítimo.

"It came at a good time and what happened there has already happened at other times of the season: A key moment, in which we were turning the situation around, in which we are set back a little bit," he explained.

"It has to do with the inexperience of the team, who are not used to fighting for trophies, and that takes time. What we have to do is come in with more intensity and play better with the ball. I want the team to better understand the phases in the game and to be very strong in duels, because we are going to be facing a great team."

"We have to look at the table and realise what points we dropped, where we lost them and how."

Asked about Hidemasa Morita, Rúben Amorim explained that the Japanese is fit, but will not be in the squad.

"We have to think about how we need the players in the long term, and training for a day at low intensity won't get you into contention. We have other players and I think that next week he will be fit, but he will do what the others do: Adapt to the workloads. We're not going to take a risk with a player because we're playing SL Benfica that. The best players will play according to their fitness," he stated.

Amorim warned that "the distance is already too great even for the UEFA Champions League spots" and that the derby "is an important game," but responded by saying that the focus must be on "going game-by-game, improving in possession."

"The league table says that we are far from SL Benfica, but to my way of thinking we can beat SL Benfica either at Alvalade or at the Estádio da Luz. That is the idea that the players have to have," he stressed.

"In recent years we've won some trophies, we've been selling well and moving the club forward. At the moment, we've had bad results for a few months and we want to reverse our position. That's football. We're a talented team that isn't always consistent, but that on any day can beat any team. Football is about the moment and a year ago everything was different," he added.

Asked about Mateo Tanlongo, Sporting CP's winter reinforcement, Rúben Amorim said that he is "a young player who will need to grow".

"He's arrived, we're short on defensive midfield players and he is already in our plans. He's another player with quality, but who needs time. Whether he's going to earn a place or not, is up to him."