A former Mamelodi Sundowns defender believes Miguel Cardoso will have himself to blame if the team does not succeed, despite the surprising modest approach in this season's transfer window.
Sundowns have signed just one player in the current window, bringing in Fawaaz Basadien from Stellenbosch FC, while they've promoted young stars Gomolemo Kekana and Thato Sibiya from the DStv Diski Challenge team.
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True to their word, Sundowns have trimmed their squad, releasing over 10 players during this period. Their squad is not as big as it previously was and Siyanda Zwane, a former Masandawana defender, feels that there is no need for them to go into the market to make additions.
He says they have enough, but stressed the importance of Cardoso rotating the squad and giving his players confidence.
"I do think it's going to have a negative effect, if the coach does not trust his players by rotating them. Sundowns have got enough. On the bench, they've got enough players, and in the stands as well. All of them can come in and do as equally as the players who are playing. The only difference is that the other ones have match fitness and confidence because they have been playing, while the others don't have that," Zwane said to Soccer Laduma.
"If the team does not succeed the way it's expected to, the coach is the one who would have shot himself in the foot because he's got enough. If you don't have Teboho Mokoena available, are you giving enough confidence to Aubaas to say, 'I will give you some minutes so that if anything happens to Tebza, I know you are ready.' Is he giving confidence to Mkhulise as well, when Allende is not available? That is the problem for me, that the coach does not rotate the players the way he is supposed to, and he does not trust his whole squad.
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"The Sundowns line-up is predictable. You always know who is going to play. To be honest, I don't need to be a coach to see that these boys are not fresh. You can see that Sundowns are not the same. There is no sharpness in their game, and it's understandable because they had a hectic season last time, and they went to the Club World Cup. But what does it call for? It calls for other players to come in, and you as a coach to have a backbone. He is going to need to use other players because I don't see Tebza or Allende playing every match. It's not possible. You can also tell that Ronwen is not the same. The coach has got enough quality in the team. He does not need to sign. He just needs to give confidence to the players who have not been playing by rotating his team."
Sundowns will face another tough test when they take on Kaizer Chiefs in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday.
