Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has suggested that no team will run away with the league title, predicting a ‘very competitive’ league until the end.
Sundowns are currently top of the table with 25 points from their opening 12 league fixtures, into the CAF Champions League group stages but missed on the MTN8 and Carling Knockout domestic cup competitions.
Cardoso has come under pressure in recent weeks, due to Sundowns dropping 11 points – with second-placed Pirates three points behind with two games in hand and Kaizer Chiefs also on 22 points, with a game in hand.
“Look of course I’m not happy with the points we have at the moment, but that is something that comes from the beginning of the season, unfortunately – we lost points in matches we should have won,” Cardoso said about their current points tally.
“But I also understood at the beginning of the season – we spoke about it a lot so I won’t say it again as people started saying I’m bringing excuses and now it’s you coming with this question – but our season’s start was not as normal as it should have been.
“By the fact that we went on the FIFA Club World Cup without enough time to prepare as we should – let’s get over that… of course I am not happy, nobody is happy inside Sundowns – that doesn’t mean we don’t understand why it’s happening.
“What we’re working on strongly, after putting things on the proper path, is to accumulate the most number of points possible, but we knew from the very beginning the league will be tough – I spoke about it.”
Cardoso has pointed to the notion of several club’s improving their squads for this season, with fourth-placed Sekhukhune United just four points behind.
“The competition has gotten better, it’s gotten hard, it started from last season, but what we want is to shape our character in a way, that we’re so strong, and have such attitude that nobody can destroy or break our attitude, nobody,” he said.
“So that’s our job, to become strong, not think about the other clubs, respect the others, being as best as possible and see where things go. I was listening to the coach of PSG after losing to Bayern, he said let’s see how things are in March, April.
“That’s what we need to do and until then we need to accumulate points because we lost where we should not have lost at the beginning of the season. Let’s see what happens ahead, what I predict it will be a very competitive league until the end.”
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