Ruben Amorim sends message to Sporting Lisbon successor after leaving for Man Utd

Ruben Amorim has sent his successor Joao Pereira a message of good luck ahead of Sporting Lisbon's clash with Arsenal.

Sporting's new boss Pereira revealed he called Amorim ahead of his first game in charge of Manchester United, and the conversation turned into a love-in. Pereira said: “I spoke to Ruben before his debut match against Manchester United and he wished me the best of luck. He wanted me to have a good career as a coach.

“I replied, 'If I can do many of the things you've done here, that's not a bad start.' He was always open and he always opened the door for us to look at him.

“It's a big challenge, but I put pressure on myself every day and I challenge myself in every training and in every match.”

United boss Amorim left big shoes to fill in Lisbon as he led Sporting to great success and set high standards in the Champions League, not least by beating Manchester City 4-1 in their last European match against English opposition. Pereira is a former Sporting and Portugal full-back – winning 40 caps – and is highly regarded at the club, having previously managed the reserve team.

It's a big step forward, but his first game in charge was a 6-0 thrashing of Amarante in the Portuguese Cup. However, Pereira expects another test against Arsenal and insists he will not be impressed. Pereira added: “I feel very comfortable sitting here, it is a great pleasure to do this work and we also know that Arsenal are at another level, with all due respect to Amarante.

“The biggest difficulty is the little time we have to prepare and practice, but the positive thing about the sport is that we participate in all the major competitions. The players are used to our style and the way we want to play.

“Even before the game against Manchester City, the players were aware of our objectives and reaching the knockout stages. We gave ourselves a great opportunity to do that.” Pereira also stressed that he wants Sporting's coveted striker Viktor Gyökeres to play a good game against Arsenal, even though the Gunners are among the clubs chasing his signature.

Pereira said: “Well, I just hope Viktor has another good match and shows what he can do.”