Jorge Jesus highlights his side's mature display against a determined Belenenses side

Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Jorge Jesus praised his side's patience in finally breaking a spirited Belenenses side with an added-time winner from Bas Dost.

"It was a difficult game when you look at the result. We didn't really give Belenenses the chance to attack for the first 40 minutes and we were really good when it came to positioning, but a goal was hard to come by. I told the lads that if we carried on playing like we were then we would score eventually", opened the Sporting CP coach, adding a word on the points gap at the top of Liga NOS: "We let Belenenses go forward a bit in the second-half. You can see the lads are a bit tired, largely due to playing 10 games in a month, but wins bring confidence. Obviously the quality of the lads isn't being questioned at all and we still feel the same pressure, win or lose."

Jorge Jesus warns of tough trip across Lisbon to face Os Belenenses

"It is always hard to play in Restelo. (Os Belenenses) are having a good season and they have taken points off one of our rivals already", alerted Jorge Jesus in his pre-match press conference this week, ahead of Thursday's trip across Lisbon to face Os Belenenses).

Looking at Os Belenense in further depth, Jesus added: "They are flying high on some good results right now, they play some competitive football and they will try and work to their strengths against us. However, we will of course be looking for the three points."

Sporting CP's recent results are a far cry from Alvalade's ambition's, however Jesus sees this as the perfect chance for his side to get back on track: "Since I came in here, we have almost always own. We started this season really well and this kind of crises only started this week. It comes from going to Luz just two points behind and coming away five behind. Of course the league is our objective, but we a fighting hard on all fronts."

Jorge Jesus sits down with the press ahead of Sunday's hosting of Sp. Braga

There would be no better present for the Alvalade faithful than a win against Sp. Braga this Sunday, on Liga NOS matchday 14. However, Jorge Jesus has warned of the danger posed by the weekend's visitors from the north.

"We try to play the best football we can every week. Braga are top team though, with a long tradition. We will be facing a competent team who believe they can win points in Alvalade, so it will be a tight game", opened Jorge Jesus, before dismissing any negative impact of Braga's recent change of command: "They will be basically the same side. A new coach won't change much in a day or two. The general spirit of things were set by Peseiro, the new coach will make the spare of the moment decisions. I am expecting a strong Braga, who are just one point behind us right now."

To finish, Jesus bushed off comparisons to last season's campaign, reaffirming his side's title aspirations: "What has changed? Some played have come in and some have left and our opponents are better than they were last years. The season goes through spells and that doesn't mean it will stay like it is now. We are a much more consistent team today and our opponents recognise what we are capable of. We are competing in a league where anything can change from one second to the next. Right now we have less points than at the same period last season, but things can change."

Jorge Jesus happy with his side's Portuguese Cup showing

"We are in every competition to win, there is no other way for us", affirmed Jorge Jesus after his side's Portuguese Cup win against Vitória de Setúbal (1-0) on Wednesday night.

The Alvalade boss was in his usual analytical mood at the final whistle, noting: "I thought it was going to be a hard game. Vitória play really well at home and they are well set up. The penalty could have made things easier for us, but we did better in the second-half. We had less time to recover for this game than our opponent did and the lads were tired after Benfica, but Byran coming on balanced it out and we started moving the ball around more. Joel looked better down the left as well. It was a good game with a nice goal."

Although squad rotation was largely expected, Jesus made just a single change for the encounter, bringing on Campbell for Bryan Ruiz). "I picked the right squad for this match. I did hesitate to rest William and Adrien, but I knew that Adrien could battle through. I didn't thing mixing things up was the right thing to do tonight", finished the Sporting coach.

Jorge Jesus looking forward to this week's Portuguese Cup action

Jorge Jesus sat down with the press this Tuesday evening, looking ahead to the midweek Portuguese Cup encounter against Vitória de Setúbal.

"It is good that we have this game. We are coming out of an important match, that we didn't win. We have been playing well in this competition and it is important for us to go on a good cup run", said the Alvalade boss, going on to speak about the opposition in more detail: "Vitória de Setúbal are a good side in this competition and they have won it twice. We want to get through this round and give our fans something to smile about."

Jorge Jesus unhappy with the evening's refereeing

The Lisbon derby's refereeing was the obvious choice for the first round of questions in Jorge Jesus' post-match press conference on Sunday and the Alvalade boss didn't pull his punches.

“We were penalised. There were two crucial incidents that Jorge Sousa didn't see. Pizzi involuntarily controlled the ball with his hand inside the area, which led to the counter attack that Salvio scored from. Then it was another bad decision from the referee in the incident with Nélson (Semedo). We are being constantly penalised and it takes points off us. The refereeing team was not up to the standard of the big teams. We were penalised and we lost, despite being the best team. The first incident didn't give Benfica a goal, but if the play had been stopped like it should have then the attack would never have happened", said Jorge Jesus.

The Alvalade boss was also asked about his decision to bring off Bas Dost in the second-half, to which he responded: ""Dost isn't the fastest player and he was tired. We needed pace and a player who could push the intensity a bit. That was the idea behind bringing on André."

Jesus went on to analyse the evening's encounter in greater depth, considering his side the most dominant after the break: "For me, it was a good match between two great teams. Sporting CP did a lot better in the second-half and Ederson was the best player on the pitch. Rui (Patrício) didn't have a lot to do in the first-half and straight after Benfica's second goal Bas Dost hit he post. Without taking away from how Benfica played, we were beaten by refereeing decisions."

Jorge Jesus expecting Adrien and Gelson to be available for Sunday's Lisbon derby

Jorge Jesus spoke with the press in a much awaited press conference this Saturday afternoon, ahead of a Lisbon derby that sees Sporting CP and SL Benfica currently separated by just two points at the top of Liga NOS.

"The derby is always special, independent of who the two teams are doing in the league. What the table looks like right now doesn't mean anything and both sides are under pressure. Both sides have to win. Honestly, it will be the team that controls the emotional part of the game that will be best positioned to win", opened the Sporting CP coach, before speaking about his options for the Liga NOS matchday 13 encounter: "We have had a few problems with a couple of the players since coming back from Poland, particularly Adrien and Gelson, who haven't trained since we arrived. We will see how the lads are tomorrow, we still still have a bit of time."

The press were understandably keen to provoke a reaction out of Jorge Jesus, with the Sporting CP coach having managed both Lisbon giants. However, the Alvalade boss played it cool: "Both of us lost in the Champions League and we both have the chance to be at the top of the league. We are both on the same level right now and this will be an intense game for both of us. We are confident in how we play and we know we can win the three points. The way this team has grown, both defensively and offensively, over the last 18 months means that we can deal with whatever Benfica throw at us."

To finish, Jesus highlighted the importance of the extra experience in his side, which is packed full of Euro 2016 winners: "Being a European champion is a sign of the individual quality of a player and that reflects in our team. If my memory serves be right, not a single one will be playing against us tomorrow. Each derby is a derby and this will be my 20th. It will be a really intense game and this is the kind of occasion that the players love."

Jorge Jesus on Wednesday's defeat in Poland

Jorge Jesus pointed the finger at his side's lack of efficiency in front of goal this Wednesday, as Sporting CP's European adventure for this season was brought to an end with a harsh loss in Poland.

“It wasn't because of the referee that we were eliminated. We took on a team who believed they could qualify and a team who had already scored against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. We knew they would be dangerous on the counter attack, but that is exactly what happened in the first-half. They took the lead and then defended it. We tried to equalise and we had chances to", opened Jesus in a conversation with the press at the final whistle, adding: "We took a lot of risks in the last ten minutes, especially when we were a man down. André could have done it for us, but it just wasn't to be. Legia knew what to do and how to play. We have been missing a bit of luck, but not today. We showed that we can do better, but we didn't score."

To finish, Jesus turned his attention to the coming Lisbon Derby: "Preparation for Benfica isn't made any harder because of this loss. Time is the main issue, as we will get into Lisbon at five in the morning and will be pretty much two days without training. Of course we spent ourselves emotionally tonight, but the two matches have nothing to do with each other."

Jorge Jesus dismisses the weather and affirms his side's readiness

Almost two hours after Legia coach Jacek Magier has backed Sporting CP as favourites to clinch the points in the Polish capital tomorrow, Jorge Jesus dismissed any sense of overconfidence and instead focused on the task at hand.

“What idea their coach has of us isn't that important to me. What matters is that we show what we are capable of. We know they will squeeze us on the pitch and from the stands, but the lads are used to it and it isn't the cold or the fans that will affect us", opened Jorge Jesus, going on to analyse the difference between the two sides: "You can say a team is favourite or not based on history. We could be considered as favourite because how how we have played in the group and we have been a bit unlucky really. We could have had more points, especially with how we played against Real Madrid and Dortmund. We wanted to get past the group stage, which we didn't, but we will push on anyway. We know that Legia are a creative side and tomorrow we will have to do again what we did against the other two teams in our group."

The Lisbon derby is just around the corner and Sporting CP are going in to the encounter tomorrow on the back of a tough hosting of Setúbal. However, Jesus affirmed his side's focus on tomorrow: "Like I said, 90% of what we are doing is about tomorrow. Obviously some of the lads might be carrying some knocks from Setúbal and we won't be taking any risks. Nothing special has happened yet, so I don't think we will have to worry about that sort of thing."

Jorge Jesus pleased with his side's dismantling of Setúbal on Saturday night

"We scored two good goals. Vitória de Setúbal barely caused us any problems at all", affirmed Jorge Jesus at the final whistle this Saturday, before adding his usual analysis of the action: "The story of the match was pretty much how Sporting CP played in the first-half. For me it was a 4-0 win, but officially it was 2-0. Both of Bas Dost's goals were fine, but what I would stress if how well we played in the first-half. Seeing a goal ruled out when their was nothing wrong with it took the wind out of us a bit. The lads and the fans deserve to be congratulated for tonight."

The Lisbon derby is just around the corner, with Liga NOS top spot up for grabs, however Jesus is keen to keep his focus on the task at hand: "We are in the race, but what matters is the Champions League match we have coming up first."