Willard Katsande has revealed he is not surprised by the job Benni McCarthy is doing at Manchester United.
A life-long Red Devils fan, the former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder is loving what he is seeing from his team under new manager Erik ten Hag. The English giants recently won their first trophy in six years after clinching the Carabao Cup last month with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium, and they also currently sit third on the Premier League table.
The new man at the helm has received a lot of praise for the team's change in fortunes, while South African legend Benni McCarthy's impact as the club's striker coach has also been lauded by many in England, and in Mzansi, as a masterstroke.
Speaking to KickOff, Katsande said that he is not surprised by the work that the former Bafana Bafana striker has done to improve the frontline at Old Trafford.
"Trust me, Benni was a great striker and goal-poacher who was very intelligent. I played against him when he was at Orlando Pirates and you could see the level of understanding the game is very high, so I am not surprised by what he's doing at United. He played everywhere in Europe; in England, LaLiga, Portugal and in the Champions League. So you can see he's not just there to add numbers. There's a football intelligence and he's now transferring that to a young generation...Rashford and others are benefiting from him. Hopefully, he's going to continue improving them," he said.
Read: 'How my agent ruined my dream move to Europe'
Having revealed that his favourite players were Paul Scholes and Roy Keane when he fell in love with the club during that iconic 1998/99 UEFA Champions League-winning season, Katsande highlighted the importance of having a top quality defensive and central midfielder in a big team like United. With a decade of experience playing in that role for Chiefs, the 37-year-old believes Casemiro was exactly what has been missing at Old Trafford.
"I think when Ten Hag came in he brought the team together and created cohesion. The introduction of Casemiro into the team has changed the whole dimension because when you want to win championships, you need to have a proper No.6 - a good enforcer. They have been struggling for these past seasons because the team didn't have the stability and an anchor. The ship is steady but we need to be patient because you remember that it took Klopp close to three or four seasons to instill his ideas. We need to qualify for the Champions League so that the club can attract big players in the next transfer windows. That position is critical and there's a reason why in the Premier League they say Casemiro is one of the signings of the season. I understand that role very well and his arrival has given a massive boost to the club and the league because it's not only teams like Manchester City and Arsenal who are doing well. He gives a lot of players the luxury to attack," said the ex-Ajax Cape Town star.
Katsande went on to suggest Ten Hag did well to handle his high-profile fallout with Cristiano Ronaldo, who departed as a free agent in November, saying the Dutchman and the Portuguese were simply a bad match.
"Coaches are different and in this case Ten Hag couldn't manage a big ego like Cristiano Ronaldo. If you look at Zinedine Zidane, for example, he was a big player so he could handle big egos like Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema. I think he had to let him go because he had to choose between his philosophy of trusting in young players and a player like Ronaldo. Maybe it was a bad match between the him and the coach but at the same time, Ten Hag did what's best because nothing is bigger than the club."
Read: Ancelotti breaks silence on Hazard comments
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH: