The coach previews the meeting with Vitória SC

Sporting Clube de Portugal play this Friday away at Vitória SC, in the fixture that marks the midway point of the Liga Portugal season.

For new coach Rui Borges, it is a meeting with a team that he started the campaign in charge of, but he does not consider that he will have an advantage due to this.

“We are not going to be the better side just because the coach knows the opposition, because their players also know the coach, and they know our way of working, so it's all subjective. It will be a very difficult game against a team who play very well, who have very good individuals that, at any moment, can make a difference, and at a difficult ground, with fervent fans and against a team who are even more difficult to play against at home -where so far they have only lost to FC Porto. It will be a very difficult game for us, regardless of whether we know the team or not, because they will add things that we don't know about. Still, as I said before the game with SL Benfica, we will focus more on ourselves than on the opponent, and on what we control. If we are capable of this, we will have a great game and come away with a very important victory -but also a very difficult one to get.”

Having now had a week of work with his new squad, and having made his debut in the dugout, Borges was asked if the team will be closer to what he wants.

“Against SL Benfica we were already a Sporting CP in the image of Rui Borges: Competitive, intense... at times we were better with the ball, at other times not so much, but that's part of it. Even in the future, when players feel more identified and there is greater identification with the gameplan, we will make mistakes at times. Therefore, above all, the principles of  competitiveness have to be there; not only against SL Benfica, but also against Vitória SC, which will be a very difficult game. Football is increasingly competitive, more intense, it requires more high-intensity actions and we have to adapt to this because, otherwise, we won't get the inspiration I mentioned in my presentation," he continued.
"It's not just inspiration: The attitude and intensity have to be there, and the players had that in the last game. Therefore, the great difficulty and the great challenge is to maintain this consistency in terms of intensity, competitiveness and quality of play, which I believe will gradually get better, as well as having greater confidence. We will have good games, I have no doubt about that, and we will be a great Sporting CP.”

"We are competing in all competitions, so we cannot be happier and more optimistic and the players have to feel that. They are the reigning league champions and they have to keep that in mind. They were champions because they are good and, therefore, there can be no distrust when things are not going so well, especially because distrust is the worst thing you can have in a football team. We did well against SL Benfica and in the moments when we weren't so good, they stuck together."

Asked about the fight for the Liga Portugal title, the Sporting CP coach highlighted that everything is open.

“Favourites? Maybe we are because we are the current champions, but otherwise it will be a difficult title race, hard fought until the last round. We will do everything to become two-time champions, we cannot let our guard down and we cannot stop being competitive and consistent. Whoever is most consistent will be champions. Therefore, my challenge is to make the team better, knowing that there will be very difficult games and that we will need to win through small details. Nothing is easy, nothing is gifted and football is increasingly competitive.”

With the transfer market open, he was pressed on potential comings and goings, but said that he is calm.

“What I can control is my work, regardless of the players who come in or who leave. That's football. So honestly, I don't worry about it too much because it's a waste of time. That's  football and we have to be able to live with it, that's why they say that the coach has to have a great capacity to adapt and I don't shy away from that. I have to have the ability to adapt, to understand the context, understand the players we have and to perform well."

“The club don't need to give me guarantees about players staying. There are clauses in contracts and, if at some point they are met, the club cannot do anything if the player wants to leave. So I don't focus on that and I'm not worried. Frankly, I'm just worried about tomorrow's game, which will be difficult. The transfer market doesn’t bother me," said the Sporting CP coach.