Benni McCarthy on Why He Was at Manchester United at the Wrong Time

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has reflected on his spell at English Premier League giants Manchester United.

McCarthy worked as the attacking coach at United from 2022-2024 under Dutchman Erik ten Hag, with the club managing third place in 202-233 before falling off to finish eighth in 2023-24 but won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in those two years.

The South African tactician describes his time at the club as the most difficult in terms of the pressures of the job but the most satisfying if results were positive.

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"It was a bit tense, but also very exciting because if you can change things around and you can make it work, you can have success,” McCarthy told KickOff.

"So, that was also quite rewarding to think that if we can have success. We will be kings. We were also looking at that, if we change the fortunes, just imagine how nice it would be anywhere you go. People would adore you. They would love you because you were able to fix it."

However, McCarthy’s frustration is that his spell at the 20-time English champions came at a time when there were two dominant teams in Manchester City and Liverpool which meant the rest always played for third place given the high standards the two sides set.

"But the most unfortunate part for us, we were there at the wrong time. We were there when Manchester City was almost unbeatable," he added.

"Man City and Liverpool FC were just too strong for any team, not just in the Premier League but anywhere in the world. And unfortunately, we had to face them all the time and sometimes [we were] not good.”

The Harambee Stars boss, however, sees lots of positives from that two-year stint, especially the cup wins, one against City in the final.

"But we still managed to win the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. In the FA Cup, we beat City in the final. Carabao Cup, we beat Newcastle United in the final. And we lost the FA Cup final when City won the treble. But we had some good success,” he stated.

"It was maybe not as successful as we would have wanted, where we could challenge for the league, because Man City was impossible to stop during that time."