Kaizer Chiefs defender Daniel Cardoso has welcomed competition from new signings Njabulo Ngcobo and Austin Dube.

Ngcobo and Dube joined the club from Swallows FC and Richards Bay as competition for Cardoso and Eric Mathoho in the heart of the Amakhosi defence.

However, Cardoso admits that the arrival of the duo has made him improve his game or risk losing his place in the starting lineup.

“It was good that the club brought in two central defenders [Ngcobo and Dube]. Last season you could see me and Tower [Mathoho] weren’t the best central pairing … you know we leaked a lot of goals,” Cardoso told the Sowetan.

“We’ve improved as a centre-back pairing and I think that extra pressure makes you not want to put a footstep wrong. Last season there wasn’t really cover and this season there are two great centre backs.

‘I mean Njabulo was defender of the season and Austin has a point to prove, coming from the NFD, so if me and Tower step one foot wrong, we know that we’ll be replaced very quickly.

“We always have to keep on our toes, unlike last season where we were very comfortable.

“We showed in our last game against Baroka that we can play football. If you look at the first half [of the Baroka game] we should have been 8-0 up.

“So, they [Sundowns] are aware of us. The Fifa break also helped us to prepare for this game.”