Cardoso reveals how Sundowns cope with tight fixture schedule

Mamelodi Sundowns’ jam-packed fixture schedule takes them to Mbombela Stadium for a Betway Premiership match against TS Galaxy on Tuesday night. There’s no rest for the reigning league champions who make the long trip to Mpumalanga after dismantling Orlando Pirates 4-1 at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday. 

The Brazilians will be wary of a rejuvenated Galaxy side that is unbeaten in 12 games across all competitions. Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is not taking his eye off the ball after their resounding win over the Buccaneers who are their only realistic challengers for the league title. 

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“We have a huge responsibility on the match as you might imagine after the win against Pirates, the responsibility increases. We have accumulated a good number of points after the first half of the championship but there’s still the second half to play,” Cardoso said. 

“I will keep saying that the championship is far away from being finished, but with each match we play, we can close it. There are a lot of games to go so we just have a small advantage that we should respect and how we respect it, it’s to give our best on Tuesday. I’ve already told the player in the change room that we celebrate but there’s no time for parties.

“They must go home and rest because there’s another match and the responsibility comes from our jersey that obliges us to be on top of our performance. The past speaks for itself and we must be on the high of that past.”

Faced with the daunting challenge of playing almost every three days in the domestic league, Nedbank Cup and CAF Champions League, Cardoso revealed how his charges are coping with the tight programme. Despite their scintillating display against Pirates, the Portuguese tactician revealed that he only used 20 minutes to prepare ahead of the game against the Soweto giants.

“The development of this team has come from the investment that the players have been making, understanding the ideas and how they watch the videos when we analyse things and how we prepare tactically for the games,” he added. 

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“Look, this game for Pirates was prepared in 20 minutes on the pitch where we didn’t run but we just positioned the players. When the ball is from here to there, when we win it in different moments, what we do, video analysis and team meetings. That’s how we prepare because there’s no time to train. If we train the players, they will not arrive in the match in a good condition.”