'It’s the worst thing that you could ever experience!' Former Orlando Pirates star Benni McCarthy opens up on his stint with relegated Cape Town City as Kenya's Harambee Stars coach states that 'you can’t share your tactics, because they’ll use it against you to help to make you fail'

Former Orlando Pirates forward Benni McCarthy has opened up about his Premier Soccer League stint at Cape Town City when he was their head coach.

The former Manchester United first team coach has said his experience at the club was his worst.

“It’s the worst. It’s the worst thing that you could ever experience because football can be a lonely job when you’re a coach, when you’re a manager, and now you’ve got people that you’ve got to hide from as well," McCarthy told iDiski Times.

“Because you can’t share your ideas, you can’t share your workings, and you can’t share your tactics because they’ll use it against you to help to make you fail. You know, it was the worst, and I experienced that in my first experience in my coaching career, Cape Town City… oh my God," he added.

The Kenya national team head coach explained how the backstabbing at the club occurred and even hinted that some plotted to have him fail and be sacked so that they could be elevated as the head coach.

“I know it’s a competitive environment, but for some it’s survival,” the retired Bafana Bafana star continued.

"And they don’t think, 'But yes, I have to survive, but this guy is the one that made me survive to begin with, so let me place my loyalty to him, and let me give him everything that I’ve got, because he took me from the dead, basically.

“But now they don’t think like that. They think, ‘Ah, he took me from the dead; now I’m in, and now I want his job. Let me stick with him, because I’m in now and then; if he goes, maybe I’ll become head coach. I’ll become the main man’. Ai.”

The 47-year-old tactician was in charge of the Citizens between 2017 and 2019. In his second season, he won the MTN8 before he left in November 2019.

After he parted ways with Cape Town City, AmaZulu appointed him head coach, and he was in charge of Usuthu between 2022 and 2022.

McCarthy, who left Manchester United in June 2024, was appointed Harambee Stars coach by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in March 2025 to succeed Engin Firat, who had resigned earlier.

He is set to lead Stars in their African Nations Championship (CHAN) quest, and the Mzansi tactician will be under additional pressure because Kenya will co-host the tournament with Tanzania and Uganda.

CHAN is McCarthy's biggest chance to try and win his first trophy with a national side. The continental competition will kick off on August 2 and end on August 30.