Rui Borges on fans, boos and a poor season after Sporting-Torreense | OneFootball

After Sporting's defeat in the Portuguese Cup final against Torreense (2-1 after extra time), Rui Borges did not hide his disappointment at ending the season without trophies. The coach said it is necessary to make a cold analysis of the campaign, but warned the fans that not everything can be acceptable when criticizing the team.

Sporting end the season by losing a title. What happened to this team to miss that objective?

"I think we didn’t win, so we didn’t deserve it. Whether we created a lot or a little, the opponent was effective. And Sporting were always a very reactive team. It is normal that conceding a goal so early would end up creating greater distrust or mental fatigue because of what was happening. Because they are a lower-division team, it created instability and we were unable to show the above-normal quality that we managed to demonstrate at various moments this season."

Do you feel this defeat will leave a mark and somehow undermine your position given that you recently renewed your contract?

"It leaves a mark on the group, because we were not able... to win. And no one wanted this victory more than we did."

You said it would be a positive season with this title... how did you see the fans' protests?

"Discontent can always exist as long as there is respect. As I said, no one is sadder than we are. The fans supported this team a lot and we have to know how to live with that discontent, as long as there is no disrespect. But I was on the pitch and I think it was nothing out of the ordinary. The season? Of course it was not positive because we had to combine our football with trophies and we didn’t manage that. We wanted to be champions and we couldn’t do it, we cannot be happy. We all have to improve."

You said you wanted to always be in the decisive moments but you didn’t manage it. What was missing?

"It has to do with the fact that we were not able to win in key moments and we ended up not being as strong as we wanted to be."

Why did you leave Diomande on the bench? Was it a physical issue?

"It was my choice, my decision. He didn’t play in the last game and the team won. I don’t think that was why Sporting didn’t win."

What lessons do you take for the future? What do you have to do differently next season?

"We have to analyze in a cold way what we have to do better in terms of planning, everything. Think about it calmly and understand how we can grow."

You were loudly booed at the end. Do you fear that this result means you will go into next season under pressure?

"I already arrived at Sporting under pressure. It would be bad if it were not so at a club of Sporting’s stature. It is something I understand. We have to keep going on our path and work even harder to understand where we can be better in the future."

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