Miguel Cardoso has sent a message to Mamelodi Sundowns substitutes following a hard-fought 2-1 win over Magesi FC as Arthur Sales and Tashreeq Matthews came from the bench to contribute to both goals.
Sundowns extended their points lead at the top of the Betway Premiership standings to six points with one more game played than second-placed Orlando Pirates, after beating Magesi at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.
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The bottom-of-the-table side opened the scoring through Wonderboy Makhubu in the first half and Sundowns needed heroics from Lucas Ribeiro Costa and Matthews.
Both assists for the Tshwane giants' goals came from Sales.
"The players that enter understand that we trust them. It's not that if you don't play in the starting XI that we don't trust them," Cardoso told journalists when asked about the importance of his substitutes.
"They know I trust everybody, and I have no problem making changes.
"I told them that despite the fact that we suffered in the last minutes, we played a great game, especially the first half. It was fantastic.
"So, it was a like a reward for them to understand that we wanted them to [give the] same energy.
"Magesi's goal was very tough to deal with and so the players that entered gave a good answer. They brought energy, they brought quality, they brought speed, they brought intensity, and most importantly, they brought intentionality.
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"I think the fact [is] that the system also helped us stretch Magesi more and we could find more actions on the inside and on the outside," explained the former Esperance mentor.
Sundowns now turn their attention to the Nedbank Cup, taking on lower division side Sibanye Golden Stars on Saturday.