Siyanda Ndlovu and Sabelo Sithole of Golden Arrows challenged by Marcelo Allende of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Betway Premiership match at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday.
Image: BackpagePix
There has been a refreshing breeze of calm, togetherness, and a positive mindset sweeping through Mamelodi Sundowns in the last few days, and coach Miguel Cardoso has urged his troops to keep at it and strive for more improvements.
Sundowns have shown flashes of their old self recently. They are through to the CAF Champions League quarter-final, in which they will face Stade Malien, while they are second on the Betway Premiership standings with 44 points, level with leaders Orlando Pirates, who have a superior goal difference.
Sundowns’ purple patch has brought a breath of fresh air and a sigh of relief for Cardoso. The Portuguese was under immense pressure at the start of the year, so much so that he was a target of some disgruntled supporters and club legends.
His critics lamented that Sundowns had regressed from their traditional, ideal style of play, and still hadn’t been constructive in their 'winning performances'.
Since surviving the scare of not qualifying for the Champions League group stage after beating MC Alger, Sundowns have been on an upward trajectory. They showed a clinical and appeasing side in their title charge, winning their last seven games in a row, including beating fellow title challengers, Pirates, away and Golden Arrows on Wednesday night.
Sundowns' impressive run has also been inspired by individuals, with Marcelo Allende using his time on the bench to recharge and Iqraam Rayners returning from injury looking sharp.
“We got stronger. We got players that made us stronger. We got a collective attitude that is in line with the values that we have in the locker room,” said Cardoso of their resurgence. “We are living and expressing ourselves every day. We are more committed than ever.
“We are more together than ever. We spread love more than ever. We train harder than ever. That’s Mamelodi Sundowns.”
Cardoso has received individual recognition for Sundowns’ outstanding run of form in the league, winning the January/February Coach of the Month award amid his purple patch. He has since dangled a juicy carrot to his troops as inspiration to continue with their form.
“This morning (on Wednesday), the team congratulated me for the Coach of the Month award for January/February,” Cardoso explained. “I told them what I want is the March one. That’s the attitude that we need to develop.
“What we did in the past is behind us, and we now need to relate with the future. There are a lot of questions that I addressed at the beginning of the season, so you just need to go back and look at them, and maybe you’ll see that we were right.”
Given the recent calm within the team, Cardoso has lauded the support they’ve been getting from the club hierarchy, adding how a quieter dressing room aided their run of form.
“In the morning (on Wednesday), I was telling the boys there is no coach that exists without a strong locker room,” Cardoso said. “So, everything comes from the boys, the reaction and their capacity to connect with struggles and fight.
“We get energy from challenges. We need to keep our focus because it can turn around. So, we need to stay committed. We have another game on Tuesday, which was supposed to be played on the weekend, so we need to be strong. I can assure you we’ll be strong.”
Cardoso is not naive, thinking that they are now at full strength to challenge for the title and continental crown, urging his troops to remain committed, continuing with their next game against Orbit College on Tuesday – a clash that is reportedly re-scheduled to accommodate Sundowns’ continental clash over the weekend.
“We need to stay committed with each other the way we are, and then we’ll be closer to winning the next match,” Cardoso said. “Believe me, in the locker room, we are thinking about the next match.”