Johannesburg - Manchester United raised a few eyebrows during the close season when they announced the appointment of Benni McCarthy as a first team coach, but one of the club's current stars Bruno Fernandes has led the praise for the South African.
McCarthy, who dazzled in Portugal in the colours of Porto, was a familiar face to Fernandes as his achievements alongside manager Jose Mourinho in the Portuguese league live long in the memory.
United haven't made the best starts to the new Premier League season, but Fernandes believes the arrival of McCarthy has had a positive impact on him and the rest of his teammates.
"It's been really nice working with him, it's pleasure for me because as a young player I saw him score a lot of goals for Porto so it's great to see him now," he told SuperSport TV.
🗣️ "He's a really funny person, always positive and good energy on the training ground."
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 22, 2022
Ahead of #MUNLIV, @JuliaStuart_SA caught up with Bruno Fernandes to find out how it's been training with Benni McCarthy 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦
Full chat available on YouTube later this week. pic.twitter.com/dYxieKmqPQ
"He's a really funny person, he's always positive and provides good energy on the training grounds and in the dressing-room.
"He was quality as a player and now he is a quality manager as well because we do some drills, and he's helping us to try and score some of the goals he did (when he was playing) so hopefully we can score the type of goals we haven't been able to score before."
McCarthy, a childhood fan of United, won eight trophies with Porto between 2002 and 2006, including the Champions League, having beaten the Red Devils in the quarter-finals thanks to a brace by the Cape Town-born player.
IOL Sport