Matsatsantsa represented the country well by finishing as runners up in the competition last year, yet their domestic form has since taken a hit, having lost nine of their 20 league and cup games since and being sucked down to 13th in the Absa Premiership standings.
Despite the African campaign clearly taking its toll on the Pretoria club, tournament debutants Cape Town City – who are in action against Mozambique’s Costa do Sol this evening – are not at all concerned of suffering a similar fate, with McCarthy insisting he has his eyes on the prize.
“It’s two different clubs,” he says when comparing City to SuperSport. “SuperSport, with their investments and that, were expected to go and win, whereas we’re not expected to – I’ve been told, ‘if it’s gone, it’s gone’. But for me, I can’t start my coaching career off like that, where I can make priorities of which competitions comes first or second.
“Tomorrow I’m out the door, so then maybe going all the way in CAF could be the best chance I get of winning a cup instead of the Nedbank or the league.
“For me it’s an opportunity, a cup there for me to win, so I’m going to go for it, irrespective if the chairman says it’s time to bow out. If he wants that, he must get a coach for that. Me, I’m going for it.”
The City head coach says, like in the previous round, he will rotate his squad to give a number of younger and fringe players a run.
“We’ll go for the young players, and players who haven’t played too many games of late, the likes of Vincent Kobola and Sibusiso Masina,” he said. “It’ll mainly be them that will play, and a couple of senior players, like [Ibrahim] Seedat, who keeps rotating with [Edmilson] Dove, whose played the last two games now.
“That’s how the rotation goes, and they understand that and are happy with each one getting enough minutes under their belt to be satisfied.
“So I try be as fair as I can, give everyone a chance, and it’s an opportunity for the guys playing in CAF to showcase themselves. Look at [Surprise] Ralani, he gets to play every game in the league now after he did well in the CAF games – he’s been in the starting line-up ever since.”
McCarthy will not sit on the bench for tonight’s clash, as he is currently in Europe completing his Uefa Pro Licence course.
Kick-off at Estádio Nacional do Zimpeto is set for 19h00.