Artur Jorge said this Thursday that the moment of Sporting de Braga, with three consecutive defeats, “is not dramatic”, pointing to the return to victories at Union Saint Gilloise, on Thursday, in the Europa League.
The Belgians won 2-1 in Braga in the previous day of group D, last Thursday, with a comeback in the last minutes consummated with a ‘bis’ from the Swedish Gustaf Nilsson, and lead the group with nine points, against six of the Minho, runners-up.
The coach of Sporting de Braga said that he expected difficulties in the fourth game of the group day and praised the rival.
“[O Union Saint Gilloise] nothing surprised me. After the draw I had the opportunity to see their campaign in the Belgian league, it is a team that comes from the knockout stages of the Champions League, they had the merit of being able to arrive, they have been very strong this season too, that is why I say that we will have a very difficult rival who will demand a lot from us to be better than them”, he declared at the press conference prior to the match.
Before and after the ‘European’ defeat, Sporting de Braga also lost, first against FC Porto (4-1 at the Estádio do Dragão) and, on Sunday, against Desportivo de Chaves (1-0, at home) , both for the championship .
“Football is always made of moments. We had an initial moment [da temporada] in which it was necessary to control certain euphoria. Now, there are my players and I, because we talk about it, and they have enough experience to understand that, [a convicção de] that this is not a dramatic moment, [ainda que] not as good as we wanted. We recognize it internally also by our demand. We are not satisfied and we know that only by working hard, having humility and knowing how to unite will we get out of a moment like this, ”he said.
Asked if Sporting de Braga maintains its goal of being first in the group, the coach said yes, “as long as it is mathematically possible.” Recalling that “there are three games to go”, Artur Jorge defended that the team must “have the ambition to fight for that goal in each of the games”.
“We know that, at the moment, we are at a disadvantage with this same rival compared to the result we had last week, but we continue with the conviction, the ambition and the humility to be able to win the games and have the same aspirations,” he said.
Artur Jorge underlined “trusting the work carried out so far” and, therefore, ruled out changing the team’s tactical system due to the three consecutive defeats.
“I have a lot of confidence in the process that we have been doing and the work that we have done, in what we have always prepared with this group of players who were chosen to have a behavior and an idea that is based on what the job is and not the believe in what we are capable of, work hard, be very dedicated, have a great commitment and want to win until the last minute”, he said.
Asked about the entry of the Arab Qatar Sports Investments in the ‘arsenalist’ SAD this week and if, consequently, it has reinforcements already in January 2023, the technician considered that “it is the result and sign of another step in the growth of the Sporting de Braga”.
“In practical terms we have to make a high demand to win games, nothing else in the sports field, my job is just to be a coach”, he concluded.
Sporting de Braga, runner-up in group D, with six points, and Union Saint Gilloise, first, with nine, will face each other starting at 5:45 p.m. this Thursday, at the Den Dreef Stadium, in Leuven, Belgium, in a match which will be refereed by the Azerbaijani Aliyar Aghayev.
Source: TSF
