Jorge Jesus happy with another Liga NOS three points

Jorge Jesus was understandably pleased with his side's 2-0 win against Nacional this weekend, particularly with what he saw as a dominating first-half performance.

"I enjoyed it. It is always important to win and we scored two goals. As far as the performance goes, we did well until Alan Ruiz came off. After that the quality slipped a bit. In defence we never looked in danger and we controlled the few chances Nacional created. I liked how we played in the first-half, but the substitutions didn't work out for us. I thought that the two lads I brought on would do damage with their pace off the ball, but it didn't work out", said Jesus at the final whistle.

Bas Dost found the back of the net again, but Jesus was clearly frustrated with the Dutchman being denied his hattrick: "Bas Dost really was the cherry on the top of the cake tonight. He scored another two goals. I complained about the offside goal and I want to apologise, because the linesmen saw it clearly. A defender was in line with Bas, but the goalkeeper was behind him so he was offside."

Jorge Jesus sets the stage the weekend's Liga NOS action, with Alvalade's youngsters expected to against feature

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Jorge Jesus reaffirmed his confidence in Alvalade's young blood, while stressing the importance of giving the latest batch of Sporting CP talent time to mature.

"Playing for Sporting CP is one thing, playing for Moreirense is another [reference to the return of Daniel Podence and Francisco Geraldes]. We have to be careful with the lads. Gelson Martins had João Mário as an example and when we needed him he stepped up. In relation to Daniel Podence, if anyone believes in him then it is me", opened Jesus.

Nacional are one of the sides who took points of Sporting CP earlier in the season, but the Alvalade is more focused on playing some good football rather than avenging the reverse fixture: "Just like Tondela, Nacional are fighting to stay in this division. Every match is a final for them and that is how they will play tomorrow. Unfortunately for us, they took points off us earlier in the season. We have been playing well recently and hopefully we will get the result and play quality football."

Jorge Jesus finished with a word of praise for Bas Dost, Sporting CP's medical team's work with Adrien and the Alvalade skipper's stand-in, Bryan Ruiz: "We want Bas Dost to finish as the league's top scorer. He can win an individual title, but it will reflect well on the whole team who have helped him. Over the whole season Adrien Silva has been out for four months, but we hope he will be back after the international break and that is down to our medical team. For now I made the right choice with Bryan Ruiz. He played really well against Tondela."

Jorge Jesus pleased with his young talent in Saturday's demolition of Tondela

Proud of his young players. That is how Jorge Jesus summarised his post-match press conference this Saturday, after watching Daniel Podence and Matheus Pereira pick apart Tondela and assist the goal hungry Bas Dost in a 4-1 win.

"Daniel Podence did will for the first goal and it is a great example of what these lads can bring to the team. It was important for us to go in at half-time in the lead. It settled the younger players and helped us relax in the second-half. What we are doing is important for the future, accepting the risk of having so many young players out on the pitch at the same time. Gelson has already made a name for himself and I liked what Matheus Pereira, Podence and Palhinha showed", said the Sporting CP coach.

Commenting on Bas Dost's unstoppable form in front of goal, Jesus added: "He is a really humble player and he have the second penalty to Joel Campbell. It is risky to take three penalties on one match and we put all three the same way, which we have to work on. If Bas Dost finishes at the league's top scorer, then it reflects on the whole team as well as him indivudally."

Jorge Jesus looking to prepare the 2017/2018 campaign with an introduction of even more starlets

Speaking with the press ahead of Liga NOS matchday 25, which will see Sporting CP travel to Tondela, Jorge Jesus highlighted the importance of a strong run in to the end of the season, as preparation for coming campaign get underway.

"Wins bring confidence and points. We have to get as close a we can to our rivals, although we know it won't be easy. João Palhinha has been given an opportunity and this weekend we will do the same with some of the others like Daniel Podence", said Jesus, going on to answer a question in relation to the possible introduction of Francisco Geraldes in the middle of the park: "Bruno César and Alan Ruiz have been really important. Francisco [Geraldes] doesn't have the characteristics to play as an attacking midfielder, he is more like João Mário. He doesn't have the athletic or individual characteristics to play as a defensive midfielder, but I think he will adapt better to playing off a forward. Our young players have a lot of individual quality, but for most of the game you don't touch the ball so tactical understanding comes into it as well."

Speaking in greater depth about the weekend's opposition, Jesus affirmed that Sporting CP's recent run of improving form has little influence: "Tondela want the points, to avoid relegation. They are learning how to play under a new coach, but I think Pepa [current coach] are both good examples of the quality of young Portuguese coaches. We have gone four matches without losing, but we are used to doing better than that. We know that the smaller clubs work that little bit harder against the big clubs, but we are ready and we can't let Tondela be more intensive than us."

Jorge Jesus reflects on a dominating opening, frustrated by the final result

Speaking with the press at the final whistle on Sunday, Jorge Jesus conceded that the second-half did not live up to expectations after his side controlled the opening stages.

"We were better in the first-half and a bit closer to where we want to be. We had a great 35 minutes, we scored and we looked good down the wings, but this isn't the result we wanted. We were really strong in attack, but we couldn't keep it up in the second-half", opened the Alvalade coach, going on to reflect on his second-half substitution of Alan Ruiz and Bruno César (both suspended for the next game for accumulating yellow cards: "When Alan Ruiz and Bruno César we improved in defence, but lost a bit of quality in terms of moving the ball around. I was a bit concerned that the lads couldn't be as aggressive as I would like them to be, because of the yellow cards. Bryan Ruiz is good with the ball in the middle and João Palhinha is more defensive, but I wanted to avoid the game being divided up. Vitória de Guimarães ended up scoring, despite not creating too many problems for us."

Speaking in greater depth about Vitória de Guimarães, Jesuse finished: "We knew we would be playing against a team that have only missed out a few times away from home and that they would force us to defend at times. We knew about how they playing going forward and Hernâni gives them options. With Ricardo Esgaio himself being quick, I thought he would be able to stop him. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't, but I think he did everything we asked of him."

Jesus looks ahead to Liga NOS matchday 24

Estádio José Alvalade will host Liga NOS matchday 24 between Sporting CP and V. Guimarães this Sunday, with Sporting CP looking to put together a fourth consecutive win.

For coach Jorge Jesus, there is no margin for error against a Guimarães team that also have their eyes on a European spot: "The obligation to win is part of being at Sporting CP. Our last few wins have given us confidence and you can see the players improving. We know we will be facing one of the league's better sides, so I am sure it will be an emotionally charged game."

Jorge Jesus happy with his side's third consecutive Liga NOS win

"We are looking to turn in consecutive wins to build up more confidence", opened Jorge Jesus at the final whistle on Saturday evening, after watching his side beat Estoril 2-0.

Despite having tallied what is now a third consecutive Liga NOS win, Jesus is keen to see his team put away more of the abundance of the opportunities being created: "We played well, although we were better in the second-half. We were better today than we were against Rio Ave and the lads are starting to understand better now our defensive processes, which gives us time to score. We didn't have a lot of chances early on, but we scored as soon as we did. The second-half was better for us and we had opportunities through against the Estoril keeper. We have to be more effective when we have chances like those."

Asked to comment on his midfield choice, bringing in Palhinha in place of Adrien, along side the injured William Carvalho, Jesus was full of praise for the pair: "William played a lot better after the break. He wasn't playing in his usual position, so he was a bit lost in terms of positioning in the first-half. Palhinha is a young lad who is learning to keep his cool, but he is really strong physically and I am sure he will have a great career. Step by step we will give the youngsters opportunities."

Jorge Jesus sits down with the press ahead of the weekend's short trip to Estoril

Although Estoril Praia are having a tough season, Jorge Jesus did not dismiss the potential of this Saturday's opponent, particularly on home turf.

"Playing in Amoreira is always hard for the big teams. They need the points to try to get out of a position that they aren't used to being in, but we need them as well to get closer to our rivals. It is going to be a hard fought game and we will be under pressure at times, but that is part of it. The best teams can't always dominate", said the Sporting CP coach, adding: "We will have to do the best we can with the players we have available and we fully trust in the lads. Obviously Adrien would be in the team and he is our captain, so it won't be the same, but we believe in whoever comes in."

Currently nine points off 2nd in Liga NOS, Jorge Jesus dismissed the idea of difficulty in motivating his players. After all, playing for Sporting CP is enough to fire up any athlete: "It isn't hard to motivate players, because this is a club that always fights to be at the top. Tomorrow our objective is to ge the three points and we want to secure a Champions League place as soon as possible."

The Alvalade boss finished with an analysis of Estoril, led by Pedro Carmona: "The new Estoril coach is still implementing his ideas. It won't be an Estoril team that looks to get forward, that is our job. They will be well organised at the back, from dead balls and attacking on the break."

Jorge Jesus highlights the importance of keeping a cleansheet in Saturday's win against Rio Ave

Analysing Sporting CP's win against Rio Ave on Saturday night, Jorge Jesus accepted that Rui Patrício's performance was a key piece of the puzzle. "In the first 20 minutes Rui Patrício was decisive. During the week I told the lads that Rio Ave are a good team. They have some very good players. We had a bit of trouble stopping them getting forward and we gave away a bit of possession. We scored without doing much in attack, but that changed in the second-half. Rio Ave couldn't threaten us and only got close from dead balls. We were a lot better after Bryan Ruiz came on, because he is tactically a very intelligent player", said the Sporting CP coach.

Looking in greater depth at the encounter, Jesus added: “Three positive things changed in this match. First was getting the win and second was keeping a cleansheet. Finally, the fans were superb and were really important for us."

Jorge Jesus looking forward to the weekend's hosting of Rio Ave

Sporting CP will host Rio Ave in Alvalade this Saturday, on Liga NOS matchday 22. For Jesus, the weekend's action promises its fair share of difficulties.

"We have been getting better and better lately. Our match against Rio Ave will be complicated. They are a good team who are well organised in defence and with good players up front. Rio Ave want to play football and they know how to do it. Obviously we will be trying to make sure they can't and we want to boss the game for the full 90 minutes, not just for one half like we have been. It won't be easy and no game is in this league", opened Jesus, going on to speak about João Palhinha, Francisco Geraldes and Daniel Podence: "Out of the three Palhinha has played most and he even started one match. Each one of the lads has different characteristics and each has different opportunities. Adapting to the way we play isn't easy."

Jorge Jesus went on to speak about what will be Rui Patrício's 400th appearance: "Rui's story at Sporting CP is all about big numbers and 400 is an interesting milestone. I read his interview this week and he wants to carry on winning titles. Of course he wants to break records, but what he wants most is to win titles. He has grown a lot, thanks to his belief and hard work. Goalkeepers get better as they get older and Patrício will be no exception to that."

To finish, the Alvalade coach highlighted the importance of stringing together a series of good results: "We are used to having to win. We don't want to win four straight matches, but more like eight, nine or ten, like we did last season. We have to find ourselves and look to the future. Sometimes it has been our fault, but sometimes it hasn't. We have to reflect on what has happened and come out stronger next season. Last season we were absolutely brilliant. It isn't easy to win 86 points and like I have said several times, that might not ever happen again."