The coach wants a serious showing against Dumiense FC/CJP II

This Sunday at the Estádio José Avalade, Sporting Clube de Portugal host Dumiense FC/CJP II in the Taça de Portugal. Rúben Amorim previewed the match in his press conference.

"We are playing at home and we have a greater responsibility to have a competitive, attractive game, because people are coming to see us and the opposition deserve it. We took advantage of these two weeks off to work on the gaps that we still have and that we demonstrated in the last few games. We didn't have a great performance in the derby, even though we were the better team," he told the media.

"We have a lot of things to improve. We have players back, such as Geny [Catamo], who is ready to play. We worked on some nuances that I think will be important for the future. We have made the most of every minute and tomorrow we want to present a competitive team, play well, win and go through to the next round."

"We want to win the competition, both the coaching staff and the club. Sporting CP have a history in the competition, but haven't won it for some time," he added.

 Amorim also assured that all the group's attention is on the challenge with Dumiense FC/CJP II: "There are players who won't play tomorrow, but it's not because they lack rhythm or not. It's because we have worked on some routines that we want to see in the match tomorrow, which we want to win. We will take everything into account and our focus is on this game, not on the one against Atalanta BC."

"The players are fighting for places and, if they want to play in the next games, they have to perform well. Regardless of whether the opposition are from a lower level, we have to make the game enjoyable for our fans. We won't go into it asleep."

Asked about Sporting CP's intentions for the next transfer window, Amorim considered that his team must "take into account players who we have received certain approaches for and prepare for the future. This study is being carried out and we will try to safeguard everything. We cannot cover all positions and that is why there are players from the youth team playing right now," he explained.

Finally, before revealing that Luís Neto will start against Dumiense FC/CJP II, he revealed the reason for not using Jeremiah St. Juste in this match.

"Jeremiah St. Juste is coming off a difficult time. He is ready to play. Ousmane [Diomande] is going to the African Cup of Nations in January and we have to strengthen him. We looked at this game, we have other options and he did more specific gym work. We are creating balance in his body and doing a kind of microcycle. We took a bit of a risk, but we are making him stronger to be more protected in January," he said.