Aden McCarthy's father Fabian believes his son 'is better than I was' and insists 'I never forced anything on him' despite the centre-back losing his Kaizer Chiefs starting jersey

Aden McCarthy has fallen back to the bench after starting the season as a regular for Kaizer Chiefs.

The left-footed central defender is now pushing to reclaim his place as a regular starter, and his father Fabian, a Chiefs legend, feels his son is better than he was.

"He has been training with the senior team for the past three seasons, and during that time he has held his ground," said Fabian as per SABC Sport.
"He is doing really well, and now it is just a matter of consistency, working hard each and every day.
"I said to coach Ernst Middendorp three years ago that I believe he is better than I was. He grew up in a solid structure, and now the only thing for him is to prove himself as often as he can," added the former Bafana star.  
"I never forced anything onto Aden. From the beginning, this has been his choice and his career."

The season started on a very promising note for McCarthy as he benched the more experienced Zitha Kwinika.

But of late, he is being benched, with Kwinika being preferred to partner Inacio Miguel at the heart of defence as prospects of the 21-year-old being a regular this season seem to be diminishing.

That leaves McCarthy with a big test of character to see if he can recover and reclaim his place in the team.

Chiefs have been struggling in recent matches, and that can force the coaches to look for new ways they think could help the club challenge for trophies.

That might include tweaking their backline with McCarthy returning to start ahead of either Kwinika or Miguel.