Sporting Club de Portugal manager João Pereira has warned his players they need to up their game significantly, or none of them will be getting the moves to Manchester City that some are expecting for them.
O Jogo cover comments from the Sporting boss today as he and his squad face criticism following a disappointing run of results.
Pereira was brought in as Ruben Amorim’s replacement last month, with the Portuguese club electing to promote from within after Amorim departed for Manchester United.
It has not been a positive start for the 40-year-old so far as he’s managed just one win in give games to date, a 6-0 defeat of Amarante in his debut.
Since then, he’s lost 5-1 to Arsenal, 1-0 to Santa Clara, and 2-1 to Moreirense and then Club Brugge this week.
Questions are already being raised about the appointment, particularly as Pereira took over a side flying high both domestically and in Europe with a squad full of talent such as Viktor Gyökeres flourishing.
Indeed, some of that squad were finding themselves regularly linked with big clubs like Manchester City, especially with director of football Hugo Viana making the move to replace Txiki Begiristain at the Etihad.
Those reports have died down in the last few weeks and Pereira insists that’ll continue to happen if performances don’t improve.
“There is no one… They may be like me and the players, but there is no one who is more frustrated at not being able to deliver the victories that everyone wants than me, the players, management, structure and staff,” he said.
“We really want to win. Imagine, if I win less, in the future I’ll have fewer clubs to coach, if that’s the case. The players, if they win less, maybe in the future they won’t go, as everyone says, to Manchester’s City’s, whatever you want to call it. The market is shrinking for everyone.
“There’s nobody who wants to win more than us. This is our life, our work. I accept everyone’s criticism and frustration, because that’s normal. When I was a fan, I got frustrated too. We have to know how to deal with it, that’s why we’re professionals and this is our profession.”
