Monnapule Saleng earns Mamelodi Sundowns reprieve after training alone

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says Monnapule Saleng’s professional conduct during a period of individual training convinced the club to give the winger another opportunity.

Cardoso revealed in August that the former Orlando Pirates attacker had been left out of the squad following disciplinary issues. Saleng has since returned to group training and was part of the travelling squad for last weekend’s MTN8 final.

The Portuguese coach said Saleng respected the club’s rules while working away from his team-mates and had continued to meet the standards expected of him after rejoining the squad.

“Look, in the same way I spoke about Saleng when I last spoke about him, we as a club, me, the Sport Director, the players, the captains and the chairman, we decided to give ourselves and Saleng an opportunity to move forward in a positive way,” Cardoso told iDiski Times when asked about Saleng, who had been pictured in training.

“Saleng trained during a period alone and he trained quite consistently and with respect of the values that we need to have inside a professional team. And since he joined the team, he has kept that path. So we are happy that he shows consistency on training.”

Saleng faces competition for a place

Cardoso expects Saleng to feature again, although he could not say when that return to competitive football would happen.

The coach also stressed that the winger must compete for his place in a Sundowns attack that has more options than in previous seasons.

“Obviously his time will appear in a certain moment, I’m pretty sure. When it will be? I don’t know. Obviously that you also understand, I’ve been stating that, in this year, this season, we have more options in the front than we had in the past,” he said.

“You see, Arthur [Sales] is not here, Lebo Mothiba was here, but he’s not on the bench even. We have [Monnapule] Saleng, Tsiki [Ntsabeleng]. So, there are other players that also were not here today.

“They have to, between commas, fight between themselves to get a position. He will appear, I’m pretty sure he will appear. And it’s a player that we trust. When I mean trust, we are trying to create a positive relation between the parts so that I can trust him and he can trust me, we can trust each other.”

Cardoso also said his public support for Saleng during the MTN8 celebrations was intended to encourage the player as he works towards a return.

“You saw me celebrating with him, pushing him to lift the cup of the MTN8 because I support him, I totally support him,” he added.

“I think that we are a special club on that. Probably in other clubs he would not be in this process. But in Mamelodi Sundowns, we do want the best for everybody and we take ourselves to the limit in order to get what we want and to give what we want, to give to the football players.”