TURKEY: Fernando Santos accepts blame as Besiktas hammered
Pendikspor 4-0 Besiktas
Former Portugal manager Fernando Santos suffered his heaviest defeat in almost 14 years this weekend as Besiktas were humiliated 4-0 in the Turkish Super Lig at the hands of Ivo Vieira’s Pendikspor.
Santos had been enjoying a fine start to life in Turkey following his appointment earlier this month, overseeing three straight victories with eleven goals scored and zero conceded. However, the streak came to a devastating end at the hands of fellow Istanbul outfit Pendikspor at the Siltaş Yapı Pendik Stadium.
Speaking after the match, Santos did not avoid culpability for the defeat, which leaves his team 4th in the table, 19 points behind fierce rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray. Besiktas are in a battle with Trabzonspor (currently two points ahead) for 3rd spot and a place in the UEFA Europa League next season.
“First of all, I congratulate Pendikspor,” Santos began. “They seized on our mistakes well. I can clearly say that the responsibility is mine. We didn't get what we wanted in this game. We have to keep our heads up because we have a very important game on Tuesday.
“We conceded a goal in the first 10 minutes and we shouldn't have. Our reaction was good, we had at least five or six opportunities, but we couldn't take advantage of them. We started the second half like that, we knew we had to play together, but we couldn't do it. It's my responsibility, I'll talk to my players. There were a lot of things we did wrong.
"Today we have to look at ourselves. We have to see what we did wrong on the field. We lost as a team. We are talking about transfers with the management, but that is a topic for another occasion. What is important at the moment is what we were unable to do today. Besiktas are a great team and they have to dominate the game.
“We have to be a compact team, which fights and manages the game at home and away. This is in Besiktas’ genes. There are things that are talked about, but the important thing right now is to focus on what we can fix. What the team has to understand is that we have to do everything together. We have to defend and attack together. I believe that we will achieve this by working. I trust my players.”
Santos last suffered a four-goal defeat when coaching PAOK in Greece back in February 2010 when they were beaten heavily at PAS Giannina in the Cup. For the veteran boss’ previous biggest reverse, we have to go back to 2nd May 1992, when his Estoril were beaten 8-1 by Manuel Cajuda’s Torreense.
By @SeanGillen9