Cardoso shares thoughts on coaching changes at Raja Casablanca

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has commented on the coaching changes that happened at their immediate opponents, Raja Casablanca.

Cardoso, whose first win as Sundowns coach came against the Casablanca giants, is cautious ahead of the return leg set for Saturday night.

Another win will leave the Betway Premiership giants closer to a place in the quarter-finals. Crucially, they face Raja Casablanca with a new leader on the technical bench.

Coach Ricardo Sa Pinto was sacked after their last meeting in Pretoria. And Hafid Abdessadek was appointed interim coach.

WHAT MAMELODI SUNDOWNS COACH MIGUEL CARDOSO SAID

However Cardoso has dismissed thoughts that the shake up at Raja would sway the game in his favour.

“When we are at the level we are at, with teams and players at the level that Raja and Sundowns have, there are no problems that affect the moment when we’re going to play,” he argued.

“So, no one should think that the fact that Raja have changed their coach will affect whatever it has to do with the will of the players to do their jobs.

“But also nothing changes to how we will do things. Because we focus on what we see and what we want to do.

“We believe we can have a wonderful game, and obviously we know who we are playing against.

“But the level of respect we should have for any opponent is also the level of respect we should have for ourselves.”

Defender Grant Kekana said they are not relaxing on their laurels because they beat Raja Casablanca in the first leg.

“I understand that the past is the past. Raja is a big team and they will give us a tough time.

“But we believe in ourselves that we can win and obviously make a difference. It’s just about us being able to put down what we have been working on through training,” Kekana said.

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