"They can't cope with the responsibility to carry a team like Mamelodi Sundowns," Cardoso said.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has once again admitted that the void left by Lucas Ribeiro is proving difficult to fill after a frustrating 1-1 draw with Marumo Gallants in a Betway Premiership clash at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium on Wednesday night.
Despite being second on the table, the Brazilians have been far from convincing this season. The stalemate against Gallants came after Keanu Cupido’s own goal 10 minutes before half-time cancelled out Iqraam Rayners’ opener just minutes earlier.
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Ribeiro controversially forced a move to Spanish La Liga 2 outfit Cultural Leonesa despite still being under contract at Sundowns.
He was an unused substitute in their match against Racing de Santander last Sunday. Back in the PSL, Sundowns have been left scrambling to plug the gap left by last season’s Footballer of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season recipient.
“I expect so (new signings) because it’s clear that the team needs extra energy and quality upfront. We lost important resources from last season. It’s only one name but his name had a lot of impact on the team,” Cardoso said after the draw with Gallants.
“It’s clear that we’re still trying to find the right connections in order to develop the capacity to arrive there collectively. We believe in our players but some of them are very young and they can’t cope with the responsibility to carry a team like Mamelodi Sundowns that needs to win every match. We’re dependent now on the solutions that we have and we’re trying to be creative because we trust the players.
“We believe that we have more than enough to continue to win but we also need to know that the teams in the PSL have reinforced a lot. The competition is very hard. If we can find the right players, we’ll be stronger as the Caf Champions League is also approaching and to play in the group stages, the level rises and we need to be up to that standard.”
Sundowns now turn their focus to Saturday’s home fixture against Durban City at Lucas Moripe Stadium, where Cardoso will be eager to restore confidence and silence growing murmurs of discontent among the club’s supporters.
“We created more than enough chances (against Gallants) and we had 72 percent ball possession and four shots on target,” Cardoso added.
“Unfortunately, we were not able to have the efficiency that we needed in order to score the second goal and finish the game to get the result that we wanted.
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“I think the story of the game is exactly that, it’s about the incapacity to score the goal that would have given us more than a deserved victory in a match that we completely controlled.”
