Cape Town – Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy has spoken of the challenges of keeping happy those players who are not getting regular game-time.
McCarthy is in his first season a head coach and currently has his team sitting in fifth position on the standings, having also made it to the final of the 2017 MTN8 competition.
It has not all been plain sailing though for the former UEFA Champions League winner as the Citizens have struggled for consistency over the past few months, while McCarthy has regularly bemoaned his team's lack of finishing prowess.
And he says that keeping his entire squad happy has been the biggest challenge of his fledgling managerial career.
"Dealing with players personalities, because you've got so many and the thing that you find the hardest is that you can't please everyone," said the 40-year-old.
"As nice as you are trying to be with players and as much as you are trying to satisfy and making players happy and comfortable, at the end of the day you've got a squad of 26 and you can only play 11 of them.
"The 12th, the 13th man, [who is] not in the [starting] 11, he is going to look at you like King Kong – 'I am just waiting for him to fail'," he continued. "Trying to keep everyone happy at the same time has been the hardest. At times you make mistakes because you try and do what you see and you can't see everything.
"And maybe a once or twice you let a player get away with not having the best of games, but he finds himself still in the starting line-up and you find players who aren't happy with that.
"So yeah it is dealing with that and learning how to manage it and not have players drifting apart," the former Bafana strker concluded.
City conclude their season when they travel to the King Zwelithini Stadium to face AmaZulu on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 15:00.
