The coach looks ahead to Matchday 3

Sporting Clube de Portugal travel to the Algarve this Friday for an 8:15pm kickoff against SC Farense, on Liga Portugal Matchday 3.

Ahead of the game, which will be played at the Estádio Algarve, coach Rúben Amorim acknowledged that his side expect “a lot of difficulties” against the team from Faro, recalling that in the last two seasons Sporting CP beat them at the Estádio de São Luís by the smallest of margins.

“It is always difficult to play in Faro, although the stadium will be different this time and that will help a bit, because the pitch will have the same dimensions as we usually play on, which will affect the game. I foresee a difficult game against difficult opponents, and against a coach who has been in Portuguese football for longer than all of us. But we want to keep winning and maintain our position”, he began by telling journalists.

“We know their coach, his way of working and the spirit he brings to the team. SC Farense's team have improved and they have different players, although it sometimes takes a while to change certain game routines. Filipe Soares is different from Mattheus [Oliveira] and has a different pace, but with that SC Farense have lost some characteristics they had and the team have to adapt. I think that now they have central defenders who build play better, and changing that way of playing takes some time”.

Amorim also warned that the team cannot relax after the 1-6 win in Madeira last weekend against CD Nacional.

“I foresee a completely different game to how we felt in the second half against CD Nacional. It was important to forget about that during the week. SC Farense are a very aggressive team, we played against them in preseason and we know their spirit. It is important to take that into the game and have that mentality. Then there are some things that we have to improve because, although the last result was very good, there are many things that we have to improve on”, he warned.

The coach also informed that Morten Hjulmand “is not yet fit for this game” and will not be travelling to Faro.

“We could risk using him, but we are not at that stage yet. We have players with different characteristics and we will miss Morten a lot. He is our captain, but we cannot risk it. Meanwhile, Rodrigo Ribeiro and Nuno Santos are back after injury and will both be called up".

The coach also emphasised the fact that the next game is against FC Porto will not have any influence on this match -or on the starting XI in the Algarve.

“This is the most important game right now. There is no squad management because there is no game in midweek and everyone wants to play. I have said it many times: The best way to prepare for the next game is to win this one, which is the priority. It is worth three points, like the next game, and the best team will be chosen for it. We will have a lot of difficulty in beating SC Farense".

When asked about the departure of Mateus Fernandes, who joined English side Southampton this week, Amorim acknowledged that he would have liked not to have lost the player, but stressed that this was a decision made in order to ensure that other squad members who play a fundamental role remain at the club.

“That is the idea, but we cannot guarantee anything until the transfer window closes. We have lost a young player with a lot of value, who has the characteristics to be a great player, but we have made choices. He was a player who was very hard for us to lose, but if you ask me if we can afford to lose [Gonçalo] Inácio or Morten [Hjulmand], I would say no, and if we have to hold on to Viktor [Gyökeres], I would say yes. We wanted to keep Mateus and I think he would also like to have stayed, despite the fact that it is a big contract and a big league. It was difficult for everyone, but we have to make choices".