Rui Borges admits fatigue before Rio Ave v Sporting | OneFootball

Present at the press conference previewing the match between Rio Ave and Sporting, Rui Borges addressed the current difficulties the Lions are going through at the moment, the main one being “mental and physical fatigue”. Still hopeful about securing 2nd place, the Sporting manager admitted it has been “difficult” to keep the team “switched on” and that he himself has been feeling the effects as well.

“In these last 15 days, a team that was fighting for everything can no longer become champions, although it is true that we still have a Cup, but keeping them switched on is hard because there is mental and physical fatigue as well,” began the green-and-white coach, before going on to explain the “big challenge.”

“It is a big challenge to keep them with the same focus, engaged in training and at maximum intensity. It also has to come a lot from them, more than from my message. We go from being full of confidence to feeling deflated... and it’s all well and good that we have a final and that they will get there switched on, but it is difficult.”

In that same vein, the Sporting coach acknowledged the resulting frustration: “We’ve reached the end of the season and we are worn out, I am too, so many press conferences, so many trips... whether we like it or not, it wears you down. It’s been months of constant maximum demand and it is natural that they feel that, especially after our main objective is no longer possible.”

Despite the current challenges, Rui Borges - who spoke about Diogo Travassos’s future - acknowledges that there is still something worth fighting for: “We are still in the fight for 2nd place, which is hugely important for us and they know that, but even individually I believe it is difficult for them to have their energy at 100%; I don’t know if that is possible, but it has to be somewhere close at least, so that we can keep fighting for our remaining objectives.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.