John Comitis reveals Benni McCarthy's mandate at Cape Town City

Cape Town City boss John Comitis has disclosed the mandate of his new coach, Benni McCarthy, after their impressive debut campaign in the PSL.

“Obviously, we set a benchmark last season by finishing third, but the mandate given to Benni is to keep us in the top eight this season,” Comitis told Cape Argus.

McCarthy replaced Eric Tinkler, who has since joined SuperSport United, and Comitis stated that they won't judge him on his first spell as head coach.

However, the management will be disappointed if they finish outside of the top five following last season’s third-place finish.

“We will be patient with the coach, who is in his first season in charge. I can assure you that Benni won’t be judged by this season, it’s far too early to do so," he said.

"But based on what I have seen from the squad, and how they’ve gone about things, I still believe we will be pleasantly surprised. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I would be disappointed if we don’t finish in the top five,” Comitis continued.

Comitis believes the 2016 Telkom Knockout Cup champions have the squad to challenge for honours following the signings of a high-profile players such as Ayanda Patosi and Teko Modise.

“We know that it will be much more difficult this season. But we are confident the team will do well again in terms of what I’ve seen, I think we are 35-40 percent better prepared than we were this time last season,” Comitis concluded.