Manchester United first team coach Benni McCarthy says Orlando Pirates winning a cup double “is not good enough”.

Speaking to veteran sports broadcaster Robert Marawa on Marawa Sports Worldwide, McCarthy said his former team winning an MTN8 and a Nedbank Cup Champions was great, but by the team's standards it was not good enough. 

“You play all year to compete [and] win the league. So winning the MTN8 cup is great, winning the Nedbank Cup is also great, but I think the big one you chase is the league,” said McCarthy. 

“I think they’ve had a great season but by their standards that’s not good enough. They’re supposed to be pushing [Mamelodi] Sundowns all the way to the wire. It should be a far closer contest than what it is.”

According to McCarthy, Pirates should be a closer contender to Sundowns because it is “a one-horse race in our league at the moment. 

“I hope the progress Pirates is making — and the new manager, with what he is doing at the club — can push to make the league more interesting than how it was before, when we had about four teams always battling each other and it can go either way.

“Every other team needs to raise their game to compete and make the league better than what it is. Now, after the first game, they might as well hand the trophy to Sundowns because that’s exactly what's happening.”

On social media, football fans expressed mixed reactions to McCarthy's comment. Some felt he shouldn't be so hard on Orlando Pirates when he has only won one trophy at Manchester United. Others said McCarthy's “tough love” was understandable.