With the Absa Premiership disappearing in the distance, Chiefs are well aware of the threat of finishing a fourth successive campaign without any silverware.
The Glamour Boys, who are famed for their cup pedigree since their inception some 49 years ago, have endured a frustrating season, having missed out on the MTN8, Telkom Knockout and quite possibly the league title.
But, with a quarterfinal match-up against Cape Town City on Sunday, Cardoso still has plenty of hope that they can change the narrative and bring joy to their supporters come the end of this season.
“I think we all know that. The league is basically gone. I think we’ve drawn a bit too many games, and we’ve now got the Nedbank Cup to play for,” said Cardoso.
“It’s four years without a trophy and we need to stop that. It’s been a very tough four years, and we don’t only owe it to ourselves but also to our fans and to the club, and this is a good chance to start.
“We know we have an objective, and we have to go and finish the objective of winning the Nedbank Cup.”
The 29-year-old Bafana Bafana international also explained why they will stand a stronger chance of winning silverware next season but ascertained that tomorrow’s encounter is not one to be taken lightly against a tough City outfit.
“I think since Ernst has come in, he’s changed things around and once we have a full pre-season under him, things will be a lot different,” he added.
“You can see the way the style of football has changed, so yeah, let’s see – starting this Sunday against Cape Town City, who are a good team. You saw in their last few games, coming from behind to beat Wits and Sundowns.
“So that’s something we’ve got to keep in mind, if we go 1-0 or 2-0 up, we can’t fall asleep because they’ve done it in the past where they’ve come back to win.
“We’ve got to be on our toes, and it’s not a smaller team that we’re playing now. In the past two rounds we’ve played against ABC Motsepe sides, and I think we made it tough on ourselves because we didn’t take our opportunities or kill the game off – both times.
“I think if we can be better at killing games off a lot earlier, and not letting it drag, it will be easier for us. So, let’s see how it goes.”