Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says his side are prepared to compete for every available honour as they begin their season against Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarter-finals on Saturday.
The Brazilians were granted permission to postpone their opening Betway Premiership fixture against Marumo Gallants last weekend after returning from a pre-season training camp in Austria.
Their campaign will now start at home to Polokwane City, known as Rise and Shine, with Cardoso determined to see his team improve on last season’s record. Mamelodi Sundowns won only one competition last term, the CAF Champions League, after also suffering penalty-shootout defeats in two cup competitions.
“We need to honour the badge we represent and play every match to win. Last season, unfortunately, we went out of two cup competitions on penalties. Hopefully this year we can settle those matches within the 90 minutes so that we do not have to reach a stage where the result can fall either way,” Cardoso told the club media department.
The Portuguese coach said the MTN8 tie would require patience and discipline, particularly because Polokwane City have appointed a new manager since the teams last met towards the end of the previous season.
“We will take it match by match. Polokwane are a tough opponent. We played them towards the end of last season, but they have a new coach and will surely have new dynamics,” he said.
Mamelodi Sundowns intend to study Polokwane City’s first competitive match for additional information, although Cardoso stressed that his own side’s performance would be the main priority.
“We will look at what they do in their championship match and try to get some information from that, but most of all we must worry about ourselves and how strongly we can start,” he added.
Cardoso said his players would need to be mentally prepared for the challenges of the match while maintaining a clear focus on their broader targets.
“We need to be mentally strong enough to deal with the difficulties the match will bring but also remain focused on our objectives. Those objectives are very clear. We must play every match to win and then assess where we stand as the competition progresses.”
The start of the season follows a difficult period for the club after the death of midfielder Jayden Adams. Cardoso said the team had to interrupt its preparations to attend the memorial service before travelling abroad, where the players were able to regain focus.
“I think it was an important turnover in terms of emotions. We had to interrupt the preseason. We went to the memorial. We were not in the best place emotionally, so coming out of the country and escaping a bit from the context was very important,” he said.
The coach added that the squad had faced several disruptions, with players moving in and out of the training group, but said the team had continued working each day on its development. He also highlighted the importance of strengthening the squad’s spirit and helping new arrivals settle into the group.
“We had to deal with a lot of situations. A lot of players were here and then out of the preparation, but we went through that working every day with a strong focus on the development of the team and on challenging the players for that. Team building, the spirit of the team, receiving the new ones and making them feel part of the family and welcoming them in the best way.”
Despite the interruption caused by the memorial service, Cardoso believes Mamelodi Sundowns gained significant benefits from their pre-season work in Austria and are now physically and mentally ready to begin the campaign.
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