Did Mamelodi Sundowns players sabotage Cardoso? Miguel confesses 'that’s football & it's difficult to rise the next day when you lose'

In the first half of the season, Mamelodi Sundowns were nowhere near their best across all competitions.

Masandawana had failed to deliver the MTN8, fell in the Carling Knockout, as well as the Nedbank Cup. The club's Premier Soccer League campaign was looking shaky, with Orlando Pirates capitalising on the advantage.

To make matters worse, the Brazilians were in danger of getting eliminated from the CAF Champions League in the group stage.

Coach Miguel Cardoso was under pressure to deliver, with Pitso Mosimane linked to a sensational return.

In the January transfer window, the club brought in Monnapule Saleng from Orlando Pirates,  TS Galaxy's Khulumani Ndamane, as well as Brayan Leon, who was playing for Independiente Medellin.

The trio has played a huge role in helping Sundowns to bounce back from their inconsistencies.

Currently, Masandawana are on level with Pirates in the PSL log after 18 games. Furthermore, the team is in the CAF Champions League quarter-final, where they will play Stade Malien from Mali. 

There were reports that some key players were sabotaging Cardoso, explaining the struggles in the team. However, that was not the case, according to the tactician. 

“I have to confess to you I never felt there were any kind of losses in terms of managing the locker-room, obviously when you don’t win here, and there, the emotions are not the same as when we are together, but we have memories,” he responded to the media.

“We know what we have done in the past, and as I told you, we lost two cups on penalties, which unfortunately didn’t give us trophies, and I repeat, in one of them, there was not even one entry in our box or shot at our goal.

“But that’s football, of course, that is difficult to recover on the next day when you lose trophies like that, but the players know very well the direction they want to go, and people in the club help us, keeping us united," he explained.

“The doors of Chloorkop are very strong. What happens outside is outside, what happens inside is another story," Cardoso stated.

"I think there was a lot of manipulation regarding a lot of things, a lot of manipulation, you always saw me being very calm.

“I don’t wanna go back on the questions that came in the beginning of the season, it was not easy for us, it was very tough, but you can find those answers in the past. 

"We had to fight back, fight for everything, and try to go forward together in the best emotions," he concluded.

On Tuesday, Masandawana will be away against relegation-threatened Orbit College before hosting Stade Malien on Friday in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-final at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.