The coach looks ahead to Monday's match

Sporting Clube de Portugal host Moreirense FC this Monday in Liga Portugal, and coach Rui Borges previewed the match in a press conference.

Moreirense FC
"I expect Moreirense FC to be at the same level they've been at so far. They've had a great start to the season. I think this is their best ever start to a season. They’re a club I know well; I know what it's like to work in that structure. They are very well balanced, a team that already have some players who have been with the club for three years, a cohesive team, with maturity, and a sense of calm in the last three years -which have been successful.

Therefore, we're in for a tough match against a team highly motivated by what they've achieved. They're a team in the Top 5 in terms of chance creation, and that clearly reflects the quality of the opponent. They will try to make things difficult for us. We have to be focused on what we can do and we want to give it our all, in front of our fans, at home."

His experience with current Moreirense players
"In terms of the principles, some may be present, but the dynamic is completely different. They are different teams and different mindsets, so very different from what Rui Borges did there. Although the general idea is the same, beyond that it's very different.

That’s not what will determine the game. I believe, above all, that it will be a great game, because the opponents are a wonderful team that I personally like -not only because of the connection, but also because of the opportunity they gave me to reach the Portuguese top flight. I have enormous affection for the players and their structure. Now I really want to win, and I know they'll make our lives difficult."

Geovany Quenda
"Quenda has been a starter. He's been working very well, training well. He wasn't a starter in the first few matches, but he is now. He's a kid who has responded. I've said from the beginning, since the first matchday, that he was perhaps the player who left me with the most doubts about who to use in the starting eleven in each match. We always chose to continue with what we were doing in the first few matches, the consistency the team were bringing to the game, that's all.

Quenda is a very mature kid, very focused on what he's achieved and what he wants to achieve. If he weren't, he wouldn't have had the impact he had last season and the beginning of this one. He clearly demonstrates his maturity, his focus and what he wants to achieve for the future. He's an 18-year-old with a distinct personality. He's mature for his age, so I don't need to worry about him being overwhelmed. I do care about him getting better and better.

He had a great game [against Kairat FC], but he needs to be even more consistent in his actions, with more actions, creating even more, which is what will make him even better than he already is. My focus is on him getting better every day, more than the psychology side, because he doesn't need it."

Midfield options
"Zeno [Debast] has come into midfield and could provide that solution, as he did very well last season; we were champions. I'm happy to have that ability in a player who is growing very well and who can get even stronger.

Regarding [João] Simões, he's as prepared to be a starter, as is Giorgi [Kochorashvili]. I repeat, these are options. He's a kid who's been working really hard, and a kid like Quenda, with a different mentality, has been part of the first team for a long time because he has an above-average mentality and ability to stay focused, to understand what he wants for his future. Simões loves Sporting CP unconditionally, and you can see that every moment he's on the pitch, and even how he is on the bench. He's a very passionate kid. I'm happy to be able to count on him, because I think he has a clearly above-average maturity and will be a natural leader over time.”

Kochorashvili's growth
"Giorgi comes from a completely different background than the demands of Sporting CP. He's still trying to understand his teammates and the team’s dynamics. But he's improving. He's listening, and he also loves to learn. He likes to ask questions, and little by little he's adapting and putting his best qualities to work for the team.

Therefore, I'm happy with what he's achieved. Of course, if you compare it to [Hidemasa] Morita, Morita has been playing with Morten [Hjulmand] for two years in a row, and their connection is like nothing else. It takes time, and little by little I've definitely seen him improve."

Managing playing games every three days
"In the 60th minute of that match against Kairat FC, we took off Pedro Gonçalves and Luis Suárez. After five minutes, Maxi [Araújo] came off, and after another five, Morten [Hjulmand] came off. It's all about management. Everything is for the greater good, because we'll have games every three days. We have to have the players ready to give their best, because they're not machines -no matter how much we want them to be at their best and meet the demands.

Within the high performance and medical departments, we always strive to do our best, without exposing the player to injury, because we want to have everyone available. That gives me more solutions as a coach and provides more solutions in these weeks in which we play every three days."

Luis Suárez
"I think he's a complete striker. I have no doubt he'll score goals, and Fotis [Ioannidis] will too. I'm very happy to have them both in our squad. They're players who will contribute a lot to the team, to their teammates, and to their teammates' development. There's been a lot of talk about Luis [Suárez's] linkup play, but it's not just that. He makes a lot of deep runs, very good diagonal runs, with good timing, and adds a variability to the attacking game that we didn't have last season, due to the characteristics of the striker we had.
It's natural that this is being talked about more, because we're seeing players like Pote and Trincão becoming even more advanced in their qualities. He adds a great variability to the team, which I like, and which Fotis will also contribute."

Keeping up a winning run
"I don't look at the opponents. At this stage, I'm not really focused on the standings, as we're three points behind FC Porto. We're in the early stages of the season, and there's pressure to win, to do our best, because we always want to win. But there's always a very competent team with its own individual and collective qualities that we have to face. We have to prepare ourselves to the fullest, in the best way possible, to overcome them."

Rui Silva's unavailability
"The severity of Rui Silva's injury isn't a concern. I think he'll be fit for next week, as will [Ousmane] Diomande and Geny [Catamo]."