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Cape Town - Cape Town City assistant coach Ian Taylor has hailed the impact Benni McCarthy has made since his arrival and hopes he'll be rewarded with a first trophy this weekend.
The Citizens face SuperSport United in the MTN8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday evening.
It will be a chance for former Bafana Bafana striker McCarthy to win his first piece of silverware - just 10 matches into his coaching career.
"Absolutely he's a winner and you can see when he was a player he was always hungry to win and he still is," Taylor told a press conference on Thursday. "He demands that from his players.
"He's extremely competitive even when he joins into little games at training, so he wants the same from those around him. To be a final for him at such an early stage of his career, it's a great experience and hopefully we can win it for him."
McCarthy played 80 times for South Africa during an illustrious career that saw him win the UEFA Champions League with FC Porto under the guidance of Jose Mourinho. He also played for the likes of Ajax Amsterdam under coaches such as Morten Olsen and Jan Wouters.
Former Ajax Cape Town coach Taylor says it has been a different feeling serving under McCarthy, having previously worked under many other more experienced coaches at the Urban Warriors.
"He's played on some of the biggest stages in the world and he's been in some of the biggest change-rooms under some of the best coaches, so he's certainly taken a bit from each," Taylor added.
"He's come in and had a big impact, he's galvanised everyone and I think to the players, he's seen as a mentor, and for us it's been great having him."
