Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim has thrown any talks surrounding his future into the bin following reports of a summer move to Liverpool on the cards for the Portuguese tactician.
Liverpool, the Premier League leaders, will be without a manager at the end of this season after Jurgen Klopp announced that he would be stepping down from his role as head coach of the Merseyside team after nine years.
Amorim has recently been linked to the Reds’ job, but the 39-year-old brushed aside any such rumours on Monday and reiterated that he is happy as Sporting’s manager and that he is fully focused on winning titles with the Portuguese side this season.
“No, because it’s part of their lives,” Amorim said emphatically when asked if he thinks the rumours about his future affect his players. “What affects the players is their own future.
“Everyone is thinking about themselves. That can interfere with the preparation of a game if they’re involved in talks with other clubs. It’s normal for players to go through that. When it’s the manager, they don’t think about any of that.
“And the manager is clearly Sporting’s manager, Sporting’s manager and only Sporting’s manager,” he reiterated. “And they know how much they want to win and I want to win titles for Sporting. So, the work was the same, the preparation was the same and they’re clear that everyone is focused on winning titles.”
Amorim, who is in his fourth season with Sporting, has three titles to his name already: a Primeira Liga, which is the Portuguese league trophy, and two Taca de Liga, their league cups.
The former midfielder also debunked rumors that a possible replacement in the person of Anthony Barry, who is the current assistant coach of the Portugal national team and German champions Bayern Munich, has been chosen to take over as Sporting head coach when he leaves.
“Completely,” he said about the rumours not affecting his focus. “The only thing that annoys me is that they already had a replacement for me.
“That’s what got me the most upset, even today I told Viana (Hugo Viana, Sporting director of football) to calm down because it’s not like that. That’s the only thing I’ve paid attention to.”
Amorim’s men currently sit atop the Portuguese league standings with a one-point advantage over reigning champions Benfica, whom they also have a game on.
They will be in action on Tuesday at the Estadio da Luz in the second leg of the Portuguese League Cup against Benfica, having won the first leg 2-1. The two sides will then rekindle their rivalry in the league on Saturday, April 6, at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in another ‘Derby de Lisboa’ that can well decide the new Primeira Liga champion.
