Benni McCarthy is the left-field choice to be Erik ten Hag's final coaching staff member at Manchester United - and his excellent trial explains why he secured the job.
The former Blackburn Rovers frontman has landed himself a role in the Red Devils' set-up full-time with his unique skill set and ability to speak a variety of languages all proving advantageous. His playing career also saw him claim Champions League glory with Porto while working with one of the modern greats, Jose Mourinho.
Steve McClaren, one of Ten Hag's current assistants, attempted to sign McCarthy while in charge at Middlesbrough, so knew all about his quality in the final third. Ten Hag though is hopeful that his skill set and experience will be a major plus for full-backs and midfielders - not just his forwards - as he looked for a fresh injection.
"There was still one place in our coaching staff that I wanted to fill," Ten Hag told MUTV. "Someone with a different voice, and Benni is that one. He has experience as a manager, he was a coach in the professional level and was a former striker — a really successful striker as well. He will focus on positioning and attacking. I’m not saying only for the strikers, but also the integration from the full-backs and midfielders."
McCarthy was first contacted by the club in May, claims the Athletic. He was initially asked by Ten Hag to take sessions with the U23s. Other coaches were given the chance to impress during pre-season but it was McCarthy who received the call.
Mitchell van de Gaag is Ten Hag's other assistant and he and McClaren have been hands on in pre-season training as they help Ten Hag get his message across. The Dutchman has largely enjoyed a positive few months in charge, although United lost and drew in their final two outings at the weekend.
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McCarthy will now be part of their preparations for the first game of the season against Brighton and Hove Albion. United are looking to respond to a poor season, which saw them miss out on the top four. Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia have all been added this summer.
McCarthy has spoken about his desire to shift the mindsets of the players with the club going trophyless since 2017. The South African is also heightening ambitious as he has plans to challenge the country's dominant pair, Manchester City and Liverpool.
He said: "[I want to] help these young players, push them, change their mindset and really try to make the difference to United this season. Hopefully this season we're going to see a completely revived United, a hungry bunch of players and a team that's going to be able to challenge to get into the Champions League and change the dynamics of the Man Citys and Liverpools."
