Cape Town City “were spoilt” as the winning results just seemed to come too easily early in Benni McCarthy’s first tenure as a head coach‚ club chairman John Comitis has said.
The experienced club administrator‚ though‚ said that panic buttons after four league and cup defeats in succession have burst McCarthy’s early bubble were not even close to being contemplated.
City will aim to rediscover their form against Free State Stars in Wednesday night’s Absa Premiership fixture at Athlone Stadium.
“It’s far too early to be pushing panic buttons or say the wheels are falling off for Benni. It’s not even on the radar‚” Comitis said on Tuesday.
“Right now we have one game against Free State Stars – win that and we will be second on the log.
“The way that I have to look at it is that come Thursday I’ll be looking back and‚ with no Lebogang Manyama and no Aubrey Ngoma‚ and with a young coach‚ we’ll be second on the log and unfortunately did not win in the Telkom Knockout final.
“And I would have to be extremely happy with that.”
McCarthy lost his cool after City relinquished a lead to lose 2-1 against Chippa United two games ago‚ saying some of his senior players “need a slap” as a wakeup call.
Comitis was asked if he believed this was a sign of a young coach losing his composure‚ or simply an ex-player who had been a professional at the top level expressing his disappointment at the work ethic of those around him.
“Look‚ the first reaction after a match has to be taken with a pinch of salt‚ because it’s always one based on emotion‚” Comitis said.
“Look at Pitso [Mosimane‚ coach of Mamelodi Sundowns] and his first reactions.
“But when I sit in meetings with Benni in the boardroom and he reports back on matches and details where the club is going‚ then I remain very optimistic about having Benni as our head coach.”
Wednesday's PSL matches:
Cape Town City v Free State Stars (Athlone Stadium‚ 7.30pm)
Platinum Stars v Ajax Cape Town (Royal Bafokeng Stadium‚ 7.30)
AmaZulu v Baroka FC (King Zwelithini Stadium‚ 7.30pm)
Orlando Pirates v Mamelodi Sundowns (Orlando Stadium‚ 7.30pm)
Bidvest Wits v Chippa United (Bidvest Stadium‚ 730pm)
Increasingly pressured McCarthy receives backing from Comitis
Image: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
Cape Town City “were spoilt” as the winning results just seemed to come too easily early in Benni McCarthy’s first tenure as a head coach‚ club chairman John Comitis has said.
The experienced club administrator‚ though‚ said that panic buttons after four league and cup defeats in succession have burst McCarthy’s early bubble were not even close to being contemplated.
City will aim to rediscover their form against Free State Stars in Wednesday night’s Absa Premiership fixture at Athlone Stadium.
“It’s far too early to be pushing panic buttons or say the wheels are falling off for Benni. It’s not even on the radar‚” Comitis said on Tuesday.
“Right now we have one game against Free State Stars – win that and we will be second on the log.
“The way that I have to look at it is that come Thursday I’ll be looking back and‚ with no Lebogang Manyama and no Aubrey Ngoma‚ and with a young coach‚ we’ll be second on the log and unfortunately did not win in the Telkom Knockout final.
“And I would have to be extremely happy with that.”
McCarthy lost his cool after City relinquished a lead to lose 2-1 against Chippa United two games ago‚ saying some of his senior players “need a slap” as a wakeup call.
Comitis was asked if he believed this was a sign of a young coach losing his composure‚ or simply an ex-player who had been a professional at the top level expressing his disappointment at the work ethic of those around him.
“Look‚ the first reaction after a match has to be taken with a pinch of salt‚ because it’s always one based on emotion‚” Comitis said.
“Look at Pitso [Mosimane‚ coach of Mamelodi Sundowns] and his first reactions.
“But when I sit in meetings with Benni in the boardroom and he reports back on matches and details where the club is going‚ then I remain very optimistic about having Benni as our head coach.”
Wednesday's PSL matches:
Cape Town City v Free State Stars (Athlone Stadium‚ 7.30pm)
Platinum Stars v Ajax Cape Town (Royal Bafokeng Stadium‚ 7.30)
AmaZulu v Baroka FC (King Zwelithini Stadium‚ 7.30pm)
Orlando Pirates v Mamelodi Sundowns (Orlando Stadium‚ 7.30pm)
Bidvest Wits v Chippa United (Bidvest Stadium‚ 730pm)
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