Ferro and Santos preview game against LASK

Sporting CP assistant coach Emanuel Ferro and player Nuno Santos were at the Auditório Artur Agostinho of the Estádio José Alvalade on Wednesday for a pre-match press conference, ahead of the team's UEFA Europa League playoff against LASK.

The team met the Austrian side in the 2019/20 campaign, but Ferro was adamant that previous results count for little in such a high stakes tie.

"I don't think that any of the teams are thinking about something that happened in the past," he said. "We are preparing for a decisive game in a competition in which we want to reach the Group Stage. LASK have maintained their base of their best players. They are a very intense side. We are a different team, but we are a team who have worked with a lot of ambition. We believe that we are going to have a good game and achieve our objective."

Ferro added that "LASK are a very different side to Paços de Ferreira or Aberdeen FC". "We aren't too concerned about having scored more or fewer goals previously, because both teams are going to try to win the game tomorrow. We want to show our way of playing. The match tomorrow will be completely different to the two that have gone before."

Having several players back available, as well as coach Rúben Amorim, is a boost for Ferro and the team, as he told the media.

"It's a source of great satisfaction for the group, who performed well in recent games but are undoubtedly more satisfied, capable and comfortable of responding tomorrow's game with the return of players and staff members."

Nuno Santos was one such player sidelined through COVID-19, and he described the experience.

"It isn't easy catching this virus and having to be isolated and train by yourself for 14 days. I adapted as best I could, training and eating well. I'm a player who is focused, and that meant that I was able to play against Paços de Ferreira. Obviously the first few minutes weren't easy, but what matters is that we got the win."

"Our objective is to get into the Group Stage of the Europa League, and we are going to go out there to win -just like we did in our last two games," stated Santos. "We need to be used to playing, and what I want most is to play tomorrow and help the team. If that happens, then I am going to do things the same way as against Paços de Ferreira."

"Europa League games are always difficult, and we are going to be up against an intense side. We are going to have to have patience and keep the ball."

Sporting CP vs. LASK takes place at 8pm local time on Thursday at the Estádio José Alvalade.

The Sporting CP assistant coach looks ahead to the game against Paços de Ferreira

Sporting CP start their Liga NOS campaign on Sunday, on what is Matchday 2 of the Portuguese league season. After their game against Gil Vicente FC last weekend was postponed, Os Leões' first official fixture came in midweek against Aberdeen in the UEFA Europa League, and now their focus turns to domestic competition.

With coach Rúben Amorim still unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols, assistant coach Emanuel Ferro spoke to the media to preview the meeting with FC Paços de Ferreira on Sunday (6:30pm local time).

"We have had two days in which to get ready for this game, as recovery after the Europa League game affects your preparation time. We are going to make some tactical adjustments against FC Paços de Ferreira that we haven't been able to work on quite as much as if we had more time between games, which means that the players have to understand the situation we are in", said Ferro.

"Recovery work is fundamental for us to perform well, and the tactical aspects have been worked on in the time we have had available."

The Sporting CP assistant added: "We are certain that we are going to field a competitive, recovered team on Sunday, capable of taking to the field with the intention of winning, as always. That's the competitive nature of our team and our players."

Ferro revealed that Nuno Santos will be part of the squad, and could make his full debut this weekend. "The reinforcements that we bring in are always players who we look for to help the team, with specific characteristics to their positions," he underlined.

"The game against Aberdeen went well and we won, which speaks well of the display from our players but -above all- our collective performance."

As for FC Paços de Ferreira, Ferro praised the club's next opponents but also stated he is convinced that Sporting CP will be able to claim the win.

"We will encounter difficulties very similar to what we found against FC Paços de Ferreira last season. They are a very solid team, who at times look to a more direct way of playing and mix that in with passing in the midfield. They have players with a lot of experience in our league. They are a team who know what they want, with well defined processes in place to do it. We believe that we will be able to overcome these difficulties that they provide."