Cardoso vows strong Sundowns comeback after Super Cup setback

"There's only one way to react to this and that's to gather our energy, come out of the emotions," Cardoso said. Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has vowed to turn the page following his side’s disappointing 3-1 defeat to USM Alger in the CAF Super Cup final. The Brazilians suffered another setback in continental football at Loftus Versfeld last Sunday, raising further questions about Cardoso’s future at the club. However, the Portuguese coach insists his team must put the disappointment behind them and focus on the challenges that lie ahead. Sundowns will use the FIFA international break to regroup and work behind closed doors at Chloorkop before returning to action against Kaizer Chiefs in a mouth-watering Carling Knockout semi-final. “There’s only one way to react to this and that’s to gather our energy, come out of the emotions, understand what we have to do in front of us and the challenges that we have even in the short term,” Cardoso said. “That is exactly how big teams come out of this. I said before the game that there won’t be losers or failures. There’s a team that lost and it’s Mamelodi Sundowns. I will not discuss if it was the best team or not. “Maybe we had difficulties to adapt in certain moments to the conditions but I think we had to be resilient in this match considering all the events that happened.” ‘There are a lot of things ahead’ Despite their early CAF Champions League elimination this season and the Super Cup disappointment, Sundowns still have plenty to fight for, including the Betway Premiership, Carling Knockout, FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the Nedbank Cup. Cardoso believes the absence of continental football will provide more opportunities to work with his squad on the training ground. “One of the changes is that there will be more time between the matches and that is unfortunate because it is an outcome that we didn’t want to have,” he added. “There are a lot of things ahead, trophies to fight for, good football to show and a team to develop. A lot of young players also showed today that they have a lot to grow. “I said that some of our players needed to grow. There was proof of that because the highest level of the champions league demands experience.” Cardoso will be hoping to have his international stars return from the national team without any injuries to prepare for the titanic clash against Amakhosi next weekend.