The Sporting CP coach's verdict on the final game of the season

Following the 1-2 win in the season finale against FC Vizela, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim explained that he was pleased with the performance in the farewell to the 2022/2023 campaign, underlining that there were “good things” to take away from the game.

“Although we immediately conceded the goal off a transition, we maintained our way of playing. We were trying to find spaces in a team that sometimes held onto the ball in midfield, and we had that calmness to look for the best moment to attack. We didn't create many clear opportunities either because of the number of players that were around the area," he began by saying in his post-match press conference.

“It was one-way traffic. We used our defensive transitions very well and the victory ended up coming naturally. Obviously the winning goal came at the end, but we were the team that wanted to win most. It was a fair victory, we worked well and we kept our run of 14 games undefeated going, which is important," he stressed, before identifying what needs to be improved next season.

“We have to do better planning and work on the things we didn't do so well at the beginning of the season, both on and off the field. Then we have to be more consistent and not drop so many points at the start of the campaign as that creates a lot of anxiety, and take things a bit like we did in the 'old days': Game by game. From now on, we have to work to win the first game of next season and plan things, now that we have more time for all players to be prepared," he said.

"It is important for us to opt for stability and not deviate from the project. Even when things go wrong, the fans know that there is a project here and an idea for how we play. They have every reason to be dissatisfied right now, but they know we have a path to follow. If we stray from this path, then everything becomes worse. The coach has to make the team, in tight moments and when we have to win -which is every game- correspond in a different way on the pitch. We are going to work on that."

In closing, he was asked about the calendar for the 2023/2024 pre-season, revealing that “the players will get back to work at different times."

“Jeremiah St. Juste, for example, will return earlier, and those who go away with their national teams will return later, but not as late as usual as we need to start all together at least a week before going to the Algarve for our training camp. Everything is planned, and on the 2nd of July we start work."