Ian Cathro, the Estoril head coach, stated that his squad must set “other goals and ambitions” beyond mere survival, following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Alverca.
“There’s no point in complaining. Many things in life are unfair. We have to work with reality and have the ability to wake up tomorrow looking for solutions to improve,” Cathro said.
Regarding his halftime adjustments, he explained: “Among other things, we were becoming unbalanced on both sides. After the changes, we found more physical capacity and more balance.”
On the club’s future ambitions, the Scottish manager added: “What’s normal for these clubs is: a coach comes in, bets on players, they work together to stay in the league, the first-division money comes in, and the book closes. On July 1st, others arrive. That’s not the best, and it’s not our idea. Everyone at the club wants to take more steps. Our first objective has been achieved – no one thinks Estoril can go down anymore. But we also need to create other targets and ambitions. Our players are angry, frustrated, and sad about the points we have. That’s a good sign. That constant fear of relegation, we’ve managed to eliminate. In the next phase, we either continue in this vein or take a step forward. The only thing that interests me is taking that step, and that demands a lot. The only certainty is that when you do things the same way, you won’t get different results.”