Benni responds to Chiefs and Bucs links

Former Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy has responded to being constantly linked to the two Soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

With Amakhosi expected to begin a search for a new coach following the club™s decision to sack Stuart Baxter - and there being question marks over the futures of Pirates™ Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids, the national team™s all-time scorer™s name keeps coming up.

McCarthy returned to Scotland after he was fired by AmaZulu two months ago.

He told SABC Sport it was an honour to be linked with the two big sides.

"Listen for me¦I™m quite honored, my name gets linked because that shows that irrespective of me being released from Cape Town City, irrespective of me being released from AmaZulu, people within the football fraternity¦they know a brilliant coach when they see one, said McCarthy.

The 44-year-old football mentor, whose first stint as a topflight coach was at Cape Town City in 2017, said speculation is one thing¦but being hired is another.

"If you get a job or not that™s another thing. Now the fact that I™m linked¦my name is there, that is something positive for me to say that yes, I might have been fired but there are people in higher places that recognise the amazing job that you've done. They want to associate the club with you so that is positive," McCarthy explained.

Though McCarthy said neither he nor his agent, Rob Moore, have been approached by any Premier Soccer League club, he is adamant the door remains open to his home country for a coaching opportunity.

"Yah, of course South Africa is my home, it is my country, it will always have a priority for me," said McCarthy.

He,however, spoke openly that his ambition is to work in Europe where he played for more than a decade at Ajax Amsterdam, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham to name a few clubs.

œLike I said, my ambition is to eventually coach in Europe. I want to coach in the (English) Premier League. I want to coach in the Championship, I want to coach in La Liga, I want to coach in Spain, in Portugal. So, that™s my ambition. I aim high, if you don™t aim you are never going to be able to know the limits that you can go. If you even capable of going there or if you just settle for mediocre, the former Pirates striker concluded.

By Mazola Molefe

By Mazola Molefe