Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says it’s a challenge to work with a huge squad but praised the professionalism of the players.
Sundowns have notably had inflated squads in years gone by and this season is no different with 39 senior players within the current squad.
For some it could pose a major challenge to train and prepare squads in short notice which was evident in the high-profile fixture against Raja Athletic Club in the CAF Champions League on Sunday – but Cardoso says the players has been the process seamless thus far.
Maintaining morale and spirits is another key factor in attempts to keep a squad of that size happy as they look to win every fixture that comes their way across all competitions.
“It’s really a context that is different I had before, so extra work in preparing training sessions, extra work, it’s more tough, takes more time, needs more attention, mostly because I worry,” he said.
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“I know the players when I make situations of 10v10 for example, there’s a huge group of players not involved, so I need to provide the others similar work. Anyway, we need to understand that [first] week was an abnormal week for the club…
“We will start after the Raja game, start having cycles of work, microcycles of three, four days, so there will people out and people who can train, then it will make it easier on a regular basis.
“Also, I found here an attitude that I really praise – because it’s a mindset inside the club and inside the players that understand that the group is big and they respect the coach, that I cannot make miracles and change the rules of the game.
“So, when I work 10v10 I can’t put on 12 or 14 players. I can only put 10, 10, because it’s the rules, it’s not my decision but a natural decision that sometimes I do. Sometimes we rotate three teams, sometimes we change players in positions.”
