Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has backed Lebo Mothiba to find his rhythm at the club after a indifferent spell of form since his arrival in the Premier Soccer League.
Mothiba has featured 22 times for Sundowns since his arrival but has largely played a supporting role behind established attacking options Brayan Leoń and Iqraam Rayners.
Cardoso, however, believes the 30-year-old’s lack of consistent game time has made it difficult for him to build momentum, while pointing to his performances in training as evidence of the qualities he can bring to the team.
“As a coach I am trying my best for all players, the coaching staff works very hard showing belief to the players and you saw how I supported him in a moment that was difficult, because he missed a situation where it could have been a goal,” Cardoso said.
“It was not the only one, there were many throughout the match that didn’t turn into goals.
“Two years ago, I remember a period where Lucas Ribeiro wasn’t scoring goals and you were always speaking about that, about how he could not score and why – and I said one day it will come out and be one [goal] after the other and it happened.”
Cardoso believes strikers can often go through similar periods where confidence and rhythm are closely linked, something he feels is particularly relevant to Mothiba given his limited run of starts.
“Strikers are a little like that and Lebo has not been the first option, as you know, Brayan and Iqraam have been the first options, so it’s normal when a player doesn’t play so consistently that to come in a match is more difficult to get into a rhythm,” he explained.
Mothiba has nevertheless impressed the Sundowns coaching staff on the training ground, with Cardoso highlighting his attitude and finishing during sessions as a reason for continuing to trust him.
“Lebo shows good character and very good training matches and scoring in them, so he gave us all the energy,” Cardoso added.
The Sundowns coach also explained the decision to rotate his attacking options, with Ortega having played three consecutive matches after an interrupted pre-season.
“And as you may understand, Brayan comes from a pre-season where he didn’t have the chance to train consistently and now played three matches in a row.
“So, it was absolutely normal we had to rotate that player because Brayan was still too tired, he’s still too tired as you saw in the second half, you saw he’s not as fresh as we’d like to have him.
“So, the rotation had to do with that, just finding 45 minutes for each of them, that could give intensity, that’s what we looked for.”
With Sundowns competing across multiple fronts, Cardoso’s comments suggest Mothiba will continue to have opportunities to prove himself, particularly as the club manages the workload of its attacking players.
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