Sporting Clube de Portugal have dismissed Joao Pereira, the successor to Ruben Amorim, after just eight games. The Portuguese champions have appointed Rui Borges from Vitoria Guimaraes as his replacement.. Pereira was promoted from his role with the B team to take charge of the senior squad when Amorim left for Manchester United in November. At that time, Sporting were six points clear at the top of the Liga Portugal, having won 11 times in as many games, and were second in the Champions League with 10 points from four outings, including a 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City.. They have only won one of the four league matches that have followed, losing twice, and after a 0-0 draw at Gil Vicente last weekend, are now second, a point behind Benfica ahead of playing them at home on Sunday evening. In the Champions League, meanwhile, a 5-1 home loss to Arsenal and 2-1 defeat at Club Brugge has left them 17th.. Confirming his departure, Sporting took to X (formerly Twitter) and said: “A Lion forever. Thank you, Joao Pereira.”. Sporting on Boxing Day unveiled Rui Borges at Estadio Jose Alvalade and club president Frederico Varandas said: “Joao Pereira came in at a time that everyone knows about for an extremely difficult challenge. Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that it did not go well.. “We knew about the difficulties and the brutal emotional shock caused by Ruben Amorim’s departure. There was also a wave of injuries that I had never had while I was president of this club and unfortunate refereeing decisions. We knew all of this, but the choice was to continue the process. Any other coach would have gone through this, unfortunately.. “The only thing I regret is not having been able to help Joao Pereira more. We wish Joao every happiness and we have no doubt that he will succeed due to his merit, skills and character. When I sat down with Joao Pereira to negotiate his termination, he didn’t want a single penny. This nobility of character says a lot about Joao and I thank him for everything.”. Borges has committed to the club until 2026. At 43-years-old, this was his inaugural season at the helm for Vitoria who currently sit sixth in Liga Portugal and ended their Conference League group stage in second position.. Get United transfer news and updates on WhatsApp!. Our team of Manchester United experts are on top of all the goings-on at Old Trafford for this week and beyond, and you can get the latest team news, injury updates, reaction and analysis along with inside information to your phone by joining our new free WhatsApp community. You can also join the 50,000 (and growing!) band of United fans who are following our WhatsApp Channel.. Sign up to our community here, and join our WhatsApp channel here.. –. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
