daniel chigunwe
LONDON. — Portugal boss Fernando Santos will not leave his post before the World Cup play-offs next March, according to reports, despite his captain Cristiano Ronaldo being visibly furious with his manager after their dismal 2-1 loss to Serbia.
Their hopes of reaching Qatar next year now hang by a thread after blowing the chance to finish top of a relatively unchallenging group featuring Serbia, Ireland, Luxembourg & Azerbaijan – heaping pressure on Santos.
But the 67-year-old will not be going anywhere before the team have a chance to redeem themselves in the play-offs, claims Portuguese outlet A Bola, with their front page reading ‘’Fernando Santos Seguro’’ — meaning ‘’safe’’.
It adds that the manager’s position ‘’is not at risk’’ and that ‘’he will guide Portugal in the play-offs’’, saying that the Portuguese FA ‘’maintain confidence in the coach to lead the national team to the World Cup’’.
Meanwhile, another Portuguese paper Record suggests Santos’ methods are ‘’outdated’’ and says his players are ‘’tired’’ but also believe he will stay put.
Immediately after the full time whistle was blown against Serbia, Santos’ relationship with Ronaldo looked strained as he went to shake the Manchester United star’s hand, only for the star forward to fume at him.
He looked frustrated and animated – gesticulating furiously with his arms towards him, with Santos then walking past him to embrace other players.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus star then puts his hands on his hips before making his way towards the other players and the tunnel with his dejection still clear for all to see.
Santos was critical of his players after the defeat, claiming they ‘’played with fear and anxiety’’, risking the wrath of Ronaldo by insisting that Bernardo Silva was ‘’the only one’’ who wanted the ball.
‘’It looked like it was going to be, but it wasn’t,’’ he said. ‘’We scored the goal, we had the initial moments. But then we started to drop deep a lot.’’ — Mailonline
Online Reporter