Kenya national team coach Benni McCarthy says he’s not really bothered by the criticism he has faced at the helm of the East African nation and that if anything he’d be concerned if there weren’t any.
McCarthy the all-time top goal scorer for South Africa was appointed the Harambee Stars mentor last March in the middle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which the side wasn’t successful at.
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The coach also oversaw the side’s impressive CHAN campaign held in the region last year where they finished in the quarter-final stage. He’s recorded six wins, five losses and three draws in his 14 matches in charge.
However there has been criticism from some people in the East region about what he can do for Kenya.
Speaking to iDiski Times senior journalist Matshelane Mamabolo in edition 248 of the newspaper, the former AmaZulu and Manchester United mentor said he expects to be critiqued and respects it even though people don’t know the challenges he’s faced with running the team.
“Since I’ve taken over, people say this and that,” McCarthy told iDiski Times.
“Since I’ve gone there, it’s the most they’ve ever exported Kenyan players going abroad from just working with them since I joined the national team.
“So, yeah, I think you’re always going to have people criticising or have something to say. And I think if they don’t, then I’ll be worried. If people don’t talk about me when they don’t criticise, that’s when I’m worried. Because then you’re definitely doing something wrong, because if everybody’s just saying, ‘oh, I’m good, good, good’, something’s probably not right.
“But you respect people’s opinion, but they don’t know what you’re facing and what you have. Because if their league was as strong as the PSL, and you have these kinds of players to select from, then yeah. But they are limited.
“So, what do you do when you have a team for a week? And for the CHAN, I was able to work with the players for a month. So, I had them in camp for a month, and then we played the CHAN tournament.
“And look, I think the national team was above average. We were in the toughest group of the tournament, and we went to a quarter-final where they’d never, ever been before.
“And that was just because we were able to get three, four weeks of training sessions. We could instil tactical discipline, and we were able to do a lot of things, and that’s why we were able to have some success during the CHAN.
“And then, of course, you’re hoping that you’re going to have the same ability to have players for longer periods. And have longer camps so that you can organise a structure, a way of play and a style. But okay, the way we play, that’s definitely like Coach Benni’s style. Because that is what he likes to do and that.
“But if you don’t have opportunities to work on that, how are you going to improve?”
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