The coach talks about his side's approach to the Taça da Liga semifinal

This Tuesday at 7:45 pm, Sporting CP travel to the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, in Leiria, to face FC Porto in the semi-final of the Taça da Liga.

On the eve of the game, coach Rui Borges talked about his side's approach to the fixture against their rivals.

“Above all, there is ambition. We have some players out injured who cannot make their contribution, and we have to be careful in how we manage the squad, but above that is the ambition to reach the final. There is always tiredness, but I know that players always want to play on Wednesdays and Sundays, rather than just from Sunday to Sunday," he began by telling the media..

Borges explained that Gonçalo Inácio has already trained with the squad and "could be an option” against FC Porto, while Marcus Edwards is “in doubt."

"FC Porto are a very dynamic team in offensive terms, and intense defensively. In addition, they played just 14 minutes of their match this past weekend. They didn’t have the workload that we had in an intense game in Guimarães. All of this can bring with it different things, but I focus on what we can control," he stated.

“Our motivation has to be enormous. Our players are motivated by what the game represents. They want to win, earn trophies for Sporting CP and add to the club's greatness. More than anything, our ambition must prevail," he reaffirmed.

Furthermore, the coach also has no doubts about the team's confidence, although there has been little time to train in the current sequence of games.

“The players are confident. We are still in all competitions and we will try to win them, as that is the demand at this club. We don’t need to gain confidence, but rather to acquire new behaviours, which will take time, because we haven’t had time to work either. There will always be a lack of time, but I feel that there is learning to be done,” commented Borges.

“The players have been fantastic, regardless of the results. The team responded very well to the demand required in the games and the transformation towards the new ideas. I'm very happy with the team's response. We have been competitive, but we have to be even more so and be able to be competitive for longer during the game."

“Sometimes, we have to have the humility to realise that we are not going to have as good moments as we want, and be more practical and not give confidence to the opponents -which has happened to us in the second halves against Benfica and Vitória SC. We have to be more intelligent and more practical at times, understanding what the opponents are giving us."

As for the Taça da Liga, he explained that “We are in the semi-finals and we want to reach the final. I've had ambition since I was born, which is perhaps why I arrived at Sporting CP. But to win the trophy we still have to win two games."

On FC Porto, who are on a run of four consecutive victories without conceding a goal, he stated that  “FC Porto are in a very positive phase of the season. They are a very strong team in defensive terms, strong in duels and, therefore, we have to be demanding of ourselves. In offensive terms, there are dynamics with their inside wingers and with Galeno as a false full-back, but I believe the team are prepared for what they will encounter. We will be strong in our own way and I believe it will be a good game.”

Regarding the options for the goalkeeper position, Borges repeated that “I have confidence in the three goalkeepers: Franco Israel, Vladan Kovačević and Diego Callai."

Finally, asked about potential changes to the squad in the transfer window, the coach of Os Leões assured, straight away, that Iván Fresneda, despite the rumours surrounding him, “is an option for the game, whether it be against FC Porto or the final."

"Any changes are natural things in football. When someone leaves, whether that be Fresneda or not, we will be lacking in some positions, so we will have to go into the market."