By now, the players at Mamelodi Sundowns must have heard the strong words of new coach Miguel Cardoso, who has made it clear that no one is bigger than the team.
Early in the season, there had been reports of clashes in the dressing room between now former coach Manqoba Mngqithi and some players in the squad. The players in question at the time, Teboho Mokoena and Khuliso Mudau, were left out of the team for a few matches before making a return, with matters believed to have been resolved behind closed doors at Chloorkop.
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Mngqithi is gone now and there is a new man at the helm who is going to lay down the law for anyone who thinks they are bigger than the team.
Cardoso, a former Esperance coach, spoke about how he wants his team to play and made it clear that they are going to play as a collective.
"We had to study the team and the players and it's obvious that the players we have are technically well developed. They suit the game of a coach that wants to impose himself on the game. Because that's the base - to have quality players. I struggled to impose myself where the quality could not sustain what I wanted to put in," said Cardoso.
"I want a team that can control the games. Controlling the games means the team must be solid in the four moments of the game. Must understand very well what to do with the ball, obviously, but as I have in mind, you have to have the ball to move, not the ball but the opponent in order to find the right spaces to attack those spaces.
"When teams play against Sundowns, we really need to understand this question of the spaces. Where are the spaces? How we can create, how we should utilise and use the spaces that are in the game. So, having control of the game also has to do with being aggressive in the moment you lose the ball because as much as you control the game, there is a moment where you are going to lose the ball and you need to strong in that moment. I think it's a moment the team needs to grow a lot and for that, you need to have huge solidarity among the players, I prefer the players to run for three or four seconds and make an effort to recover the ball immediately, rather than coming down, reorganise and defend to win the ball and then having to go forward again. That's one of the things we will have to work from the very first day. We have players for that. They need to be closer to each other for that moment and that comes from the offensive organisation."
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"That is also solidarity and commitment because there will be no player more important than the team with me. Believe me, no one. We make the task as a group and we understand that we have quality, but we put the quality together because football is a collective sport. It's how we can be together."
Cardoso has a big task on his shoulders, to ensure Sundowns end the campaign with titles in the cabinet. So there will be little room for error.
