South African legend Benni McCarthy is to work with Neil Lennon at Hibernian, after his departure from Belgian club Sint Truiden at the end of last season.
McCarthy, who lives in Scotland, will shadow Lennon at Easter Road some three years after linking up with the Northern Irishman at Celtic Park, while he was studying for his coaching badges.
Speaking to The Sowetan following his departure from Sint Truiden, McCarthy said: “For now I will probably go to Hibs and work with a coach and a friend I worked with at Celtic a few years ago.
“I will go there and keep learning. The club is in Edinburgh, where I am currently staying.
“I enjoyed my time in Belgium. It was refreshing and nice to learn the trade of being an assistant manager. What I learnt most is player management. It’s all about how you manage players and focusing on making sure that they play for you. If players listen and work, then you can win things. You also have to make sure that they are in perfect condition every week.
“If you are organised as a coach and have a plan and direction, then things should work out for you. I enjoyed learning all the things I did not know before. You deal with a lot of things and I believe I will benefit. Hopefully, it does not end here for me.
“I live this side now and if an opportunity to coach in Europe comes, then I will take it. But I am not saying no to ever coming to coach in South Africa. I think every person would tell you that coaching Pirates, Chiefs or Sundowns is what they want,” said Bafana’s all-time top scorer.
“It’s much tougher to win the league with Chippa United or Golden Arrows or AmaTuks. So I would love to manage one of the big three one day. I am a champion and I want to win at all costs.”
McCarthy – who had spells with West Ham, Blackburn Rovers, Porto, Celta Vigo and Ajax – quit playing in 2011 and worked with previous Hibernian manager Alan Stubbs as a coach for the development squad while working towards his coaching badges.
