Miguel Cardoso reveals approach for little-known Sibanye Golden Stars

The Brazilians come up against an ABC Motsepe League team they know very little about at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in a tournament with a reputation for upsets. 

Sundowns, who finished runners-up after losing to Orlando Pirates in last season’s final, have a wet appetite to do better this time around, and Cardoso has stressed the importance of upholding their values.

"You don't prepare players for these kinds of matches the day before, you need to prepare an attitude on a general and regular basis – that's what we've been doing since we arrived at the club," said Cardoso.

"So we understand that it's not a matter of who you play against, it's a matter of how you want to be and live, so it's construction in attitude more than just trying to find the motivation for playing a match.

"I don't believe in short-term motivation, I don't believe in external motivation, I believe in drive, pursuit, and attitude as a way to live, so that's what we are trying to build or keep inside the locker room, in terms of values.

"If you live according to these values, that's the way you're going to behave all the time – that's how I see myself as a coach, and that's how I was groomed when I started very young at FC Porto Academy."

Meanwhile, with the transfer window closing on Tuesday, the Sundowns coach explained there is a delay in several exits due to the injury situation at the club, but a few could leave Chloorkop in the near future – some even to Europe.

"Sometimes the squad has to be extended, not because we want it to happen like that or to have the luxury of keeping players – we don't do that, because we also worry about our players' careers," he noted.

"So, at the moment we are discussing a couple of situations in the group that eventually we will let the players go out, but we need to find the right place to put them because sometimes they say, 'There is not the best [environment] for me,

"We are even discussing possibilities of finding agreements in Europe, so that we can try to promote our players there, so that's the work of Mr Flemming Berg, and it will for sure bear fruit in the next months – I hope next season we can already have some news on that."

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