Amakhosi find themselves in a rather precarious position of potentially going a full three years without any silverware, with the Absa Premiership slowly slipping out of their grasp and only the Nedbank Cup left to play for.
Coach Steve Komphela earlier spoke of his ability to withstand the adversity he has been faced with throughout his tenure at Naturena, and Cardoso has added that the players are just as resilient under pressure as their mentor.
“Being at Chiefs is pressure. You’ve got all the fans who are always on your back, and I guess you’ve got to live with that,” said Cardoso.
“If you can’t handle pressure then I don’t think this is a club where you should be at. I mean, every game we play there’s 20 000-plus fans, and pressure is always on us.
“I think we learn to live off it and, yeah, we thrive off it. If there wasn’t any pressure here then we would be just an ordinary team.”
With many of the current first team players having yet to win a silverware, the experience of the likes of Itumeleng Khune, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Willard Katsande, Bernard Parker will arguably be depended on to lead the charge for the final cup on offer this season.
Cardoso believes it is high time those who have yet to win silverware in their careers need to learn the trade of the club by going all the way in the Nedbank Cup.
“They have the experience of having won trophies and many of us came here to win trophies, but unfortunately we haven’t yet won one,” added the former Free State Stars full-back.
“They [seniors] keep telling us and pushing us that before they retire they still want to win another trophy, so we as … well, I don’t see myself as a youngster anymore, but the youngsters below us need to start learning that this is a team that wins trophies.
“I mean, two-and-a-half years without a trophy is a poor run for us, and we need to change that around.
“We’ve been saying we will and every time we keep failing. Hopefully this time we can actually turn it around and win this Nedbank Cup.”