SPORTING : Domingos: "The lads want to win"

"With Sporting still involved in four competitions, we have to manage the squad well", noted the Sporting coach, speaking ahead of Thursday's match with Moreirense. However, Domingos stressed that he is not about to take the lower division visitors lightly, guaranteeing that he will put out a strong side.

The Alvalade boss tackled the issue of Sporting's recent results head on, affirming that his squad is eager to turn in three points: "We are still looking for a win and that is something that we want to do against Moreirense. We want to respond positively, because we would love to go on a run in the League Cup. Thursday's result is really important if we are to do that."
The Lions are still chasing their first win of 2012, but the coach proved confident in his players' ability to turn things around: "We are aware of the mistakes that we made and I am confident in the players that I have available. I believe that the lads can do more and the team wants to win."

Although his side is currently a considerable distance of the pack at the top of Liga Zon Sagres, Domingos highlighted that Sporting should remain focused on all fronts: "Every competition has to be relative for this Club. When I was contacted last June with the idea of becoming Sporting's coach, I was told that this would be a year of change at Sporting; a year in which Sporting changed everything that it had been in recent years. In the past thirty years, Sporting has only won the league three times and in the last 8 has only won a league and a Portuguese Cup. I came here because we want to change things, not because I was obliged to or because of any knee jerk reaction. I am really proud to be here and it really motivates me thinking that Sporting could win something this year. That is what the fans want and that is what we are working towards. It isn't in 6 months that you lose everything in football and we can't forget that we brought in 19 new players. We are going to carry on working as hard as we can, because we believe that it is possible to win something this year. We are still involved in four competitions."

Asked if he feels like his squad has failed to meet his expectations, Domingos was clear: "No. The team isn't below what I expected from them because we brought in 19 new players. If you want to change everything that Sporting has been in football in recent years, then it isn't in 6 months that you are going to do it. Sporting has won the same amount of titles as Benfica during this century and has won more cups. However, people are still not happy, so that shows you how big a club this is. Give it time."

Text: Andreia Alexandre
Photos: Pedro Cruz