Cardoso says Saleng cameo showed Sundowns’ faith in him

Miguel Cardoso says bringing Monnapule Saleng off the bench against Marumo Gallants was a clear indication of the trust he has in the winger.

Saleng made his first appearance of the season during the final 10 minutes of Mamelodi Sundowns’ 1-0 victory at Loftus Stadium, replacing Antonio van Wyk as Sundowns secured their place in the Carling Knockout Cup quarter-finals.

The decision was notable because Cardoso could have introduced a more defensive-minded player to help protect the lead. Instead, he chose to give Saleng valuable playing time after the winger had recently returned to first-team training.

Saleng had been excluded from the squad earlier in the season following transgressions outlined by Cardoso. Those included failing to report for travel ahead of the second leg of last season’s CAF Champions League tie.

Cardoso said Sundowns’ approach was to help the player address his mistakes rather than remove him permanently from the group.

“We don’t allow ourselves to exclude a person, a human being out of the process,” Cardoso said after the victory over Gallants.

“Obviously, we need to understand how to relate with everything that happens, but we don’t exclude no one. I think that’s the opportunity we gave to Saleng, for him to go over his faults and understand himself, show consistency, train systematically at a good level and be aware of the things that were important to change.”

The Sundowns manager added that Saleng would be judged on his performances, like every other player in the squad.

“He made his effort and he will have his chances according to performances. That will be evaluated like all the other players,” he said.

“If he becomes consistent, he will have more chances. If he has more situations, he will have less chances.”

Cardoso said the decision to use Saleng late in the match was also intended to reinforce the club’s support for him as he works to regain his place.

“I think today, we wanted to show him that we trust him and give him the energy to enter the match,” he said.

“Maybe in the moment it would have been easy for me to put in one player to close the game. I still had the will to say, ‘go there’. It’s a proof of trust and a little bit of energy also to feel that we are here for him when he needs.”

Siyanda Ndlovu scored the goal that sent Sundowns into the last eight of the Carling Knockout.

The quarter-final draw will take place tonight after the final last-16 fixture between Durban City and Stellenbosch FC at Chatsworth Stadium.