Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy ‘not looking for excuses’

Another switch in venue for Cape Town City this weekend would ordinarily prove disruptive for their players but coach Benni McCarthy does not want to make a big deal of the issue.

City moved their first home game of the season against Stellenbosch FC to Athlone Stadium last weekend after discovering that the Cape Town Stadium pitch was in no condition to host the game.

It set off another scathing criticism of the stadium authorities by City boss John Comitis.

This weekend City must move again to avoid a clash with GladAfrica Championship matches at Athlone Stadium and will host Polokwane City in their MTN8 quarterfinal at Newlands on Saturday (kickoff 3pm).

It is the first football game at the rugby venue since Ajax Cape Town beat Orlando Pirates 3-0 in 2011.

“It can be disruptive but I don’t want to turn this into a negative for my side. We are footballers‚ we must be able to adapt to all kinds of things‚” McCarthy said.

“You going to get so many things thrown at you and if you are not adaptable‚ then you are always going to be looking for excuses. I don’t go around living a life full of excuses and I don’t want to install that in my players.

“We take it as it is. We’ve also had difficulties without training facilities. The pitch has been waterlogged‚ but we’ve made adjustments.

“We are professionals and we try to be as professional as we can. It doesn’t matter where we train or where we play‚ we just try to make the most of the situation.”

City begin the defence of their MTN8 crown with a fully fit squad. “We are chomping at the bit‚” added the coach.

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