'it's A New Page,' Says Cardoso As Sundowns Gear Up For Pirates In Blockbuster

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso looked relaxed when he spoke of what he may be up to in his first experience of a blockbuster clash against a team challenging his own for the Betway Premiership title, Orlando Pirates.

Having won his first six league matches since taking over from Manqoba Mngqithi on December 10 , the Portuguese said any result in Saturday's game at Loftus Stadium will do nothing more than leave the championship still wide open for both teams.

Having lost two matches, Pirates 33 points from 13 games trail Sundowns 39 from 14 by a match and six points and will come take a big step closing the gap if they bag all three points against the Brazilians a team they lost to twice last season as they finished runners-up by a distant 23 points.

Cardoso said past results between the sides don't particularly matter to him, but accepted this will be the biggest test he's faced since taking the reins at the Brazilians.

I focus mainly on our team, said the 52-year-old Portuguese whose team brushed aside SuperSport United 3-0 on Wednesday, the same night Pirates kept Downs in sight by beating Sekhukhune United 2-1 in Polokwane.