The coach looks at the Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund

Rui Borges, coach of Sporting Clube de Portugal, spoke ahead of the game against BV Borussia 09 Dortmund; the return leg of the play-off to reach the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

“The difficulty is huge, as we are going to face a great team that are 0-3 up from the first leg," he acknowledged, before explaining his plan for the rematch.

“The big challenge is, and will continue to be, to gain more consistency throughout the game. A consistency that we had in the first half, where we were intense, competitive and clearly superior. We didn't have that in the second half, and against great teams these details make the difference. It is a difficult result to come back from, but the greatness of the club we represent means that we will never give up and will always do our best to win," he said.

Asked about the absences of Francisco Trincão and Viktor Gyökeres from the squad that arrived in Germany, Borges claimed that it was “just team management."

“Everything is a priority in terms of competitions, but we had some injuries that made our decisions difficult throughout this accumulation of games. On Sunday we will also have a very difficult game in the league, where we want to win again and we will have more absences: Morten [Hjulmand] and Ousmane [Diomande]. It is impossible not to have this squad management."

Despite the adversities, especially as a result of the various injuries that have plagued the squad, the coach outlined the ambition that will drive his team in Dortmund, where they will have young players José Silva, Eduardo Felicíssimo, Alexandre Brito, Manuel Mendonça, Afonso Moreira, Lucas Anjos and Rafael Nel all looking for experience.

“We will do our best. We want to respond and dignify the great club we represent. There is no time to regret things, but rather we have to find solutions."

“Tomorrow we will come into the game with great spirit, with a huge desire to win and without looking too much at the result of the first leg. We have to look at the game at hand, and do our best with our strategy and our ideas."

“We have to believe in our path and that, in the future, we will be very happy regardless of all the setbacks that have happened to us. We have to be more resilient and stronger, and this character also defines Sporting CP," he concluded.