Sporting’s coach admits to feeling the team’s physical and mental exhaustion, but acknowledges that reaching second place brings motivation and tranquility.
Sporting coach Rui Borges, in a press conference after the victory (4-1) over Rio Ave, in the 33rd round of the League . The Sporting coach admitted that the team had to overcome difficult days, but recovering second place brings “motivation and mental tranquility.
How does the group react to having returned to second place?
The group is happy, we were able to win the game and we were losing against a good team, who have had a very good second half of the season. They are a fantastic team. The group was happy with the victory, and there’s the added bonus of being back in second place, but we have to stay focused. We have one more game at home, in front of our fans. We need their energy and support. We’ve also had fantastic support away from home. We’re going to play against Gil Vicente, who are having a fantastic season and will make things difficult for us. We’re happy to be in second place, but we have to be very focused, recover, and be mentally ready to play the last game. Depending only on ourselves is very important.
Assessment of refereeing and what brings victory to the group.
I believe the decisions were made correctly.
Returning to second place brings motivation and mental peace. We missed the opportunity to fight for the championship and second place, which was mentally difficult for the group. But we managed to overcome that, the group is capable and showed that today. It’s important to understand that we’re back in second place and that we’re back to depending only on ourselves. It helps the team and the players a lot mentally, and I hope it motivates them for the difficulty of the last game.
Does it ever cross your mind not to finish second?
“Finishing second crosses our minds. I feel it’s positive because it gives the team a bit of a mental boost, the atmosphere is different, but we can’t let our guard down because we have a difficult game ahead, even though it’s at home. It’s the end of the season and energy isn’t always at 100 percent, which is natural for all teams. But our motivation and ambition, and they’ve shown this throughout the season, weren’t defined by those 15 days that define the great season the group is having. It’s extremely important that we depend on ourselves and we have to do everything to achieve that against an opponent who is having a great season. But I believe the group’s motivation to finish second is high.
To revive the group after a difficult moment.
Adding a second victory after those 15 days is extremely important. The difficult part after the Arsenal games was breathing. We entered these more normal weeks, after that week that took us out of those objectives. The difficulty was the mental shock of being out of the championship and not depending on ourselves for second place. Even with normal weeks it’s difficult to get them going. Even in training, no matter how much they want to. There’s the wear and tear, and it’s difficult for coaches, not just at Sporting. The last few weeks are difficult for teams, the wear and tear is enormous, it’s a World Cup year, players are tied to call-ups… it’s difficult, but we’ve managed to help the players, because it depends a lot on them. No matter how much I want to and how good a guy I am at trying to push them, it’s difficult. My conversation revolves a lot around that. It was difficult, but these victories and being in second place helps a lot. I hope that keeps them ambitious and eager to play the last game.