Ruben Amorim travelled to London for talks with West Ham this week (Getty)
Sporting CP head coach, Ruben Amorim, has issued an apology to the club’s players and supporters after holding talks with West Ham this week.
The 39-year-old, who was also in contention to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, travelled to London on Monday for discussions with West Ham.
Amorim, whose Sporting side are currently seven points clear at the top of Liga Portugal, returned late on Tuesday evening but refused to comment on his trip to Portuguese media, who were waiting upon his arrival.
However, ahead Sporting’s clash against Porto on Sunday, Amorim took the opportunity to apologise for his trip, and insisted it was a ‘mistake’ to hold talks with West Ham.
‘Let’s get the elephant out of the room. I’ll talk about this once. The first thing is that the club was aware of my trip. It’s important and changes the context,’ Amorim said on Saturday afternoon.
Ruben Amorim admits talks with West Ham were a ‘mistake’ and ‘inappropriate’ (Getty)
‘The second situation, talking about the cloak of secrecy surrounding the trip. I secretly parked the car outside, passed around 15 people, took photos with people and got on the plane.
‘Therefore, remove a little bit of that thing that was done behind our backs, mainly from the club.
‘The most important point – my trip was a mistake. The timing was completely off, it didn’t seem right to me at the time.
More Trending
‘It was inappropriate, even more so when I am so demanding with my players, I am always the first to say that each one’s individual problems cannot be overcome by the team and, therefore, it was my fault.
‘I have to accept it and live with it. Thinking coldly afterwards, it is very clear.
‘It’s also not true that I didn’t explain to the players. I gave it to the players and the staff.
‘Now it’s time to move forward, also using the public part to apologise to Sporting fans, the staff and especially, publicly, to my players.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.