Kenya national team coach Benni McCarthy has responded to critics who were outspoken about his team selection for the upcoming 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN).
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McCarthy announced his provisional CHAN squad last week, but his selection has faced its fair share of criticism after the former AmaZulu boss left some notable players out of the squad.
According to FlashScore, Shaban official Stephen Kiama questioned why McCarthy omitted Brian Michira was left out of the team after scoring 12 goals in the league last season.
"We really don’t understand who did the selection of the CHAN squad," Kiama said. "Was it really done by McCarthy himself or Francis (Kimanzi), because for any serious coach or Director looking for local talent for such a tournament for locally based players, there is no way you can skip the name of Michira,” Kiama said.
In response to Kiama's comments, the former Bafana Bafana international responded to the outcry over his selection and admitted he was not here to please anyone with his selection.
"You can’t please everyone, you know, and I’m not here to please people," McCarthy said. "I’m here to bring success to this country, and the players that we’ve selected are the players that we’ve seen, the players that I’ve had in camp," he added.
The 47-year-old explained he knew how to identify talent.
"Yeah, we know," he said. "Everyone is not going to be happy with how the team is selected, but everyone has not been where I’ve been, so I have and I know talent when I see one, and the players that we’ve selected, that we’ve picked were by far the players that I think and the technical team that can take this team far, and then we’re not going to just participate in the camp," he added.
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“We’re here to make a statement. We’re here to go as far as possible, hopefully even winning the tournament, and the boys that I picked have the capability of taking this team to where I want.”
Photo: X/@TeyaKevin
