Peseiro leaves Sporting helm

'Great honour'
The loss - Sporting's third in four games - left the Lisbon side languishing in seventh place in the Portuguese Liga, and Peseiro decided it was time to go. "It was a great honour to be Sporting coach," the 45-year-old said. "But my players are the most important thing and I want to leave so they can find normality. They can't play well with the pressure I was facing, so it's better to resign and create conditions more conducive for Sporting to achieve the success they deserve. Sporting and their project are more important than my image, career and job."

Abject form
Peseiro took the helm at the Estádio José Alvalade at the start of last season and oversaw an upturn in the club's fortunes. Sporting finished third in the Liga and reached the UEFA Cup final against PFC CSKA Moskva on home turf. The Russians won 3-1, however, and with the loss of Fábio Rochemback to Middlesbrough FC and retirement of Pedro Barbosa and Rui Jorge, they have been unable to rediscover that form this term. Sporting were knocked out of both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup, and have struggled in the league with three defeats so far. Luís Martins, Pedro Caixinha, and Fernando Justino take temporary charge.