Rui Borges says every Sporting coach is on limited tenure before Casa Pia game

Pressure grows around the Sporting coach

Rui Borges is working under mounting pressure after a run of poor league results, and his future at Alvalade is in doubt. Diário de Notícias reports that sources among Sporting council members describe a hostile atmosphere towards the coach, and that a dispute between the club and Borges is becoming more likely. The paper says president Frederico Varandas wants to avoid a transitional solution and needs time to find a coach the structure would accept. The most sought-after names, Abel Ferreira of Palmeiras and Leonardo Jardim of Flamengo, are under contract and cannot be signed now, so the plan is to wait for results to calm the stands. A commentator on SIC Notícias argues that Borges still has Varandas's backing.

Borges defends his position and his family

At the pre-match press conference in Alcochete on Thursday, 29 October, Borges said the team had to do more and better in some matches, and that the situation was not the end of the world. He said he talks with Varandas almost every day about routine matters, but declined to reveal the content of those conversations. Asked about the criticism, he said the noise did not affect him and that he was focused on what he controls.

“Coaches are on limited tenure from the first day. I am focused on what I can control, which is the game.”

Borges said he was hurt by the insults aimed at his family, including his son, a footballer who had been insulted in a recent match for being who his father is. He told reporters that the family suffers most from the disrespect.

“Who suffers is my son, my wife, my parents and my sisters. That hurts.”

The coach José Manuel Viaje told Record that he had confirmed the use of low and offensive language in that match, and that he had preferred to take the player off the pitch.

Casa Pia test and a league gap

Sporting visit Casa Pia on Friday, 30 October, in the 10th round of the I Liga, with kickoff at 20:15 at the Estádio Municipal de Rio Maior and Miguel Fonseca refereeing. Sporting have won only one of their last four league games and sit third with 18 points, nine behind leaders FC Porto and four behind Benfica, a rival they have yet to face this season. Their most recent league defeat was a 2-1 home loss to Académico de Viseu, while on Tuesday, 27 October they beat Marítimo 2-1 in the Taça da Liga. Zeno Debast, Rodrigo Zalazar and Nuno Santos are all out injured. Borges described Casa Pia as a side with growing collective consistency, strong in duels and set pieces and dangerous on the counterattack, and said the trip would be difficult.

Fans and the coach's future

Fans turned on Borges after the Académico de Viseu defeat, waving white handkerchiefs at him, and demands for his resignation have continued. Some media outlets have reported that his position depends on the result against Casa Pia on Friday. Diário de Notícias adds that Borges's fate depends directly on positive results and on closing the gap to the top of the table, and that the sides' relationship has been tested by his public response to the criticism.