Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has explained the ‘relentless’ workload needed to keep pace with manager Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford. The former Premier League striker previously held two top jobs in South Africa before being drafted in by Ten Hag, who was keen to provide his forward players with expert guidance.
McCarthy had spells in the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal before landing in England with Blackburn Rovers in 2006. His exploits for FC Porto saw them win a Champions League under Jose Mourinho, and he retired as the all-time leading scorer for South Africa.
Despite holding fully-fledged managerial positions in his homeland with AmaZulu and Cape Town City, McCarthy didn’t need to think twice when he was invited to Carrington by Ten Hag last year.
And although the 45-year-old only makes up one cog in the United machine, he claims that the sheer amount of work going on behind the scenes at Old Trafford is ‘frightening’.
“Both my jobs as a coach at Cape Town City and AmaZulu, if you put them together, it doesn’t come close to the workload that’s being done at Man United,” McCarthy told South African radio station 947. “It is relentless, but that is expected because of the levels and the amount of world class players you deal with on a daily basis.
“We’ve got to be prepared every single day. At seven in the morning we’re in the office and delegating the training sessions, the individual schedules, all the data. Then the players come in, you have your individual meetings.
McCarthy scored 21 goals in 48 games as the spearhead of Ajax’s attack, and although Ten Hag never featured for the Amsterdam giants as a player, he led them through a successful period on the pitch as a manager.
The duo have work to do at Old Trafford after a dismal start to the season, however. Defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday leaves the Red Devils clinging on to the top-half of the Premier League table, with four losses from their first seven games in 2023/24.
