Benni McCarthy’s honesty speaks volumes
Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy took full responsibility for the MTN8 final defeat and that says a lot about him.
This morning we discuss the match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, the MTN8 final and some English Premier League results.
The Citizens were leading 1-0 and McCarthy elected to substitute an attack-minded player in Teko Modise for a defensive midfielder in the shape of Roland Putsche to protect the lead.
That allowed SuperSport United to commit more numbers forward knowing that their opponents were now sitting back.
Let’s be honest, most coaches would have dilly dallied and tried to be political when asked about this, but McCarthy just admitted that he made a mistake and that’s probably what threw the game away.
Journalists and fans are not stupid, they can observe and study situations, so answering them honestly shows that you respect them.
Let’s face it, most coaches would have made that mistake because if you’re in that situation you choose either to sacrifice attackers for defenders or strengthen your attack to keep your opponents on the back foot. The latter is used by tacticians who believe “the best form of defence is attack”.
The way he spoke shows that he realises the mistake and he’ll probably be better equipped for these situations in future. We need more coaches with that level of honesty.