Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has praised the level of professionalism at the club and explained why he won’t make drastic changes compared to Manqoba Mngqithi’s work.
Cardoso was thrown in the deep end after being announced as Sundowns, but has hit the road running two wins over Raja Club Athletic in the CAF Champions League and Stellenbosch FC in the Betway Premiership.
The former Esperance coach was asked what he did on his first few days at Chloorkop, and explained how seamless it was to blend in due to the level of professionalism at the club.
“It’s a hell of a job. The first day after my presentation, and a lot of meetings with all the departments, so try to understand the model of the function of each department to immediately adapt small details regarding what I think is important for the team,” Cardoso said after their win over Stellies.
“But let me tell you, and I did it already, and I sent immediately after the first game to all the structure of Mamelodi Sundowns it was very easy because the structure is so professional, the level of everybody and the commitment to the task is so professional, that my life was very, very easy.
“So I think that after the first group of meetings, on the second day, and the first training session, we were able to put into practice some of the things we wanted. The second thing, very important at the same time, the group received us with open arms, open minds. So that made us get our energy out so that we could connect ourselves.
“So I believe that after one to two days, we were all smiling. I also praised the players for that, the way they received us, and it was more simple to give steps in front in terms of what is the preparation of a coach.”
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Cardoso also stated that the aim is to move the team forward gradually and not make drastic changes to what Mngqithi built.
“The first thing to finish the question, is important to pick the team from where it was and not drastically change things, otherwise, you can create discomfort,” he continued.
“So gradually, with small details, we are trying to move the team forward with a lot of respect by the work that was done by coach Manqoba before us.
“And just moving forward from the point where it was so no breaks and sudden changes on the team, otherwise, probably the discomfort would be too big and the work would not be productive.
“And now from here, we gradually improve ourselves.”
Sundowns are back in action on 24 December, when they will face AmaZulu at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
