South African great Benni McCarthy’s desire to quickly constitute his backroom staff when he becomes Harambee Stars coach has encountered a minor setback.
Benni McCarthy’s bid to bring one of his lieutenants with him to Kenya when he is appointed Harambee Stars coach has received a setback after South African club Cape Town Spurs expressed a desire to hold onto Vasili Manousakis.
Manousakis, who worked with McCarthy as his assistant at AmaZulu, has emerged as the man identified by the South African legend to work as one of his assistants in Kenya but his current club have no intentions of letting him leave.
Cape Town Spurs are fighting relegation in the South African second tier, sitting 15th in the 16-team league, despite being relegated from the top flight just last season, and want to hold onto Manousakis, who is their assistant coach.
South African legend Benni McCarthy has reportedly decided on the men who will join his technical bench when he takes over as Harambee Stars coach.
The club has slammed Football Kenya Federation in the manner in which they approached Manousakis, with club’s CEO Alexi Efstathiou saying the Kenyan FA tried to ‘poach’ their coach behind their backs.
“We are calling out the Kenya federation and the agency involved for their unprofessional behaviour,” Efstathiou said as per South African journalist Joshua Hendricks.
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“Let’s set the facts straight, Vasili is contracted until the end of the season, and we’ve had zero contact from the Kenya federation.”
McCarthy is reported to have settled on Manousakis as his assistant with his former Orlando Pirates team-mate Moeneeb Josephs set to be Harambee Stars’ goalkeeper trainer.
The Bafana Bafana star’s unveiling is reported to be edging closer with Josephs set to join him in Kenya but it is not known if Manousakis will link up with him later despite the complaints from his current team.
“Our full technical team, including Vasili, will be on the bench for our crucial fixture on Friday,” the Cape Town Spurs boss added over Manousakis’ immediate future ahead of their match against ninth-placed Highbury on Friday.
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McCarthy is expected to be joined by other Kenyan coaches on his coaching staff as he begins a new chapter in his managerial career.