FIFA break giving Miguel Cardoso sleepless nights

The Brazilians will likely release 10 or more from their galaxy of stars to the respective national teams later this month for crucial World Cup qualifiers and this is a slight concern for Cardoso.

The Portuguese mentor has made it clear that the congested PSL schedule has taken a toll on his squad.

Cardoso is asking for better communication lines on periodisation.  

"As much as we believe in all of them, they are not all equal and obviously we have players that go to national teams and they have to perform in the national teams because they also want to be there,” Cardoso said.

“So, we need to have good communication, we need to give them as much rest as possible. I said last time and I keep repeating it, training less is training more."

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The coach adds that Sundowns are doing everything possible internally to avoid major injuries with a minimum of three games per week.

"Hard work, managing players but most effort not only from me but all the structure of the club because there is a big group of people that is working hard in terms of managing the players, trying to work on them in order to avoid injuries,” he added. 

“Trying to work on them to recover from match to match and we're trying to deal with strategies in order to as much as possible have the players physically available but mentally on disposal because the fatigue here for the overload of matches is also very dramatic if you don't give them the opportunity too."

Sundowns face Golden Arrows tonight hoping to go 21 points clear of Orlando Pirates, who are their nearest rivals in the Betway Premiership.

Cardoso believes they will have their work cut out against a team that has recently appointed Manqoba Mngqithi as their head coach.

"PSL matches, they are tricky because of the way the teams play, they are tricky. So, we must have a lot of respect for everybody. Obviously, we are a team to beat so there's always extra energy when we play against any team,” the coach explained. 

“We have to be on the limit every moment; that's why I say it's important not to make any mistakes on the players you line up.

“But then also the mental approach on the games is very important because if you feel that you are relaxed, it can be a big mistake for us. We just have to continue to play, match after match after match until our next one, very tough one by the way."