Kenya legend on ex-Bafana Bafana star Benni McCarthy potentially taking the Harambee Stars job - 'We need him like yesterday'

Benni McCarthy has been linked with the Kenya national team job as a possible replacement for Engin Firat.

The former Bafana Bafana striker is currently unattached with Richards Bay also being mentioned as his potential next destination.

But former Kenya international Elijah Onsika feels McCarthy is the perfect man to coach the Harambee Stars.

“When I read the news that FKF were courting McCarthy for the role on a permanent basis, I didn’t think twice, I said to myself we need him like yesterday,” Onsika said as per iDiski Times. 

“He has the know-how about African football and can be the best man to replace Engin [Firat]. He [McCarthy] is a man on demand because of what he has achieved before, from his playing career and now as a coach. It is prudent that FKF must move with speed to tie him down or else he will take another route, he may get another offer and snub Kenya.

“Recently he was with Man United, and you saw how he shaped their strikers," added the Harambee Stars legend.

"You could see his hand on how Man United strikers did their job, he was a good striker too [during his playing days] and coming to Kenya, he will be able to help more players grow and develop their skills. He will have the chance to work with Michael Olunga and shape him even more.”

McCarthy has never coached a national team and if he takes up the Kenya role, it will be his first time as an international coach.

After failing to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Kenya are now bidding to book a ticket for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

They are fourth in Group F after four matches with five points fewer than log leaders Ivory Coast. It would be a tough task for McCarthy to get them back on the qualifying track.

World Cup qualifiers resume in March and that gives Kenya little time to conclude their search for a new coach.

It remains to be seen if McCarthy will still be jobless by March.