THE Sanjoanense coach, Pedro Hipólito, today considered that the victory against Nacional, by 1-0, in the Portuguese Football Cup, constitutes an important moment for the club, but the priority is financial and sporting restructuring.
“This victory was an important moment to give everyone confidence, but let’s not hide that the championship is essential for us to promote the work that is being developed in the different departments”, said the coach in statements to the Lusa agency, after qualifying for the fourth round of the competition.
Sanjoanense, relegated from League 3 last season, is now seeking to rebuild the project in a context of change in the structure of the sports society (SAD), with the acquisition of 80% of the stake by Canadian businessman James Yott, in a process accompanied by the club’s management.
“It’s an important moment to give everyone confidence, but it’s also the day to day for us to continue growing this project that started three months ago, when the change took place”, highlighted Pedro Hipólito.
The coach explained that the main objective of the restructuring is to balance the accounts and create conditions for a stable future, in order to prevent the club from facing similar financial difficulties as in the past.
“What it is doing is clearing all past debts and financially rebalancing Sanjoanense so that SAD does not go through the difficulties it went through last season again,” he stated, adding that the project should allow it to consolidate a more consistent structure.
The coach states that participation in the Portuguese Cup represents, in this sense, an opportunity to give visibility to the team and value the work carried out.
“The Portuguese Cup is an opportunity to show why it has greater visibility than the Portuguese Championship. Let’s take advantage of what comes our way again in the draw and take advantage of every game to show the quality of the players and the team”, he said.
Pedro Hipólito also highlighted the renewal of the working group, with 19 new players joining the team at the beginning of the season, which he considers to be progressing positively.
“We have a completely new, young squad that needs time to solidify”, said the coach, remembering that “only four players carried over from the previous season, two of which are still recovering from ligament injuries”.
The victory over Nacional, a team from the I League, comes at a time when Sanjoanense is in fifth place, with eight points, in Series B of the Portuguese Championship, the fourth tier of Portuguese football.
The coach recognized the importance of managing this qualification so that the team can continue its work and focus on the next match, against Camacha, in Madeira, for the sixth round.
“It’s been two days, everything is calmer. We have a difficult game at the weekend and our focus is where it needs to be”, he concluded.
