Benni sends stern warning to ailing Amakhosi

Kaizer Chiefs have the look of a punch-drunk boxer at the moment and Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy is planning to pile on the misery on his beleaguered counterpart Steve Komphela when the two sides meet at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night.

Amakhosi and the Citizens have had contrasting starts to the season. While on-form City have won all their matches in cup competitions and the league, Chiefs are yet to win a match in this campaign.

Little wonder then that McCarthy was not exactly shaking in his boots when asked about City's date with visiting Chiefs.

"When the fixtures came out, I said: 'I get my first chance to be a manager and already they want me to be the first coach to be fired'," said McCarthy.

Indeed, the Premier Soccer League fixture list seemed to be very unkind on greenhorn McCarthy - this is his maiden season as head coach - as City were pitted against league champions Bidvest Wits, Platinum Stars, Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Polokwane City in the club's first five matches of the campaign.

But McCarthy chalked up wins against Wits and Stars in the league, and against Polokwane and the selfsame Wits in the MTN8 cup.

"But you know what, once a winner always a winner, my friend. You don't lose that," he said. "That is what I have instilled in the [players] and you see now, five games, five tests and we have passed all five and we have another couple to come.

"So, we will see what happens [against Chiefs on Wednesday]. They had better come prepared for a fight."

McCarthy hinted that he had made a bet with striker Lehlohonolo Majoro and told the striker to score a certain number of goals to win the unspecified wager.

"The Major" has been in fine form under McCarthy and has scored two goals in the league and in the cup.

"Majoro has got his sights on something else and I am afraid I am going to end up on the losing side," McCarthy revealed. "Yeah, he keeps counting every time he sees me and at the end of the season when he reaches his targets, I will let you in on a little secret."