Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has urged his players not to take Kenya lightly, warning that their mentor Benni McCarthy’s influence and the mounting pressure surrounding his future could make them more a dangerous opponent and determined to pull off an upset.
Bafana will face the Harambe Stars in back-to-back 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Friday before travelling to Nairobi for the return fixture next Tuesday.
According to Kenyan reports, the Bafana legend McCarthy is under pressure and his job on the line following a disappointing run of results, having managed just seven victories in 19 matches in charge of the East African nation.
Though Kenya will be host of the continental showpiece next year and have already automatically booked their spot.
In their group of the Afcon qualifiers they have just collected just one point from their opening two matches against Eritrea and Guinea which Bafana beat comfortably.
This has added to more to the demands of McCarthy's head.
Mosimane believes such circumstances could make Kenya particularly dangerous, warning that players often find extra motivation when fighting for their coach's future.
"If a player or a coach's future depends on a game, you've got to be very, very careful of that because sometimes the players play for him and you can get the biggest surprise you can ever have," Mosimane said.
"So be very careful of playing an emotional team and especially when they have nothing to lose.
" They're already in the Cup of Nations qualifiers, the African qualifiers, in the finals," he said.
Mosimane highlighted McCarthy's impressive football pedigree, insisting that his achievements as both a player and coach deserve respect.
He pointed to McCarthy's involvement with Manchester United, where he worked as a forwards coach, as well as his experience at the highest level of European football.
"You've got to also respect that Benni is a good coach. Benni was coach in Manchester United, a dream that any coach in South Africa wished to have. He coached [Cristiano] Ronaldo, excuse me."
"You've got to respect the level at which he has coached and you've got to respect the level at which he has played.
"None of us in the whole continent has got the gold medal of [Uefa] Champions League.
"So you've got to understand those facts I'm giving you, that what kind of person we are talking about in terms of the fight in football to win, the fight to personality to win at all costs."
Mosimane also cautioned Bafana against falling into the trap of complacency, using Cape Verde's recent progress on the international stage as an example of why no opponent should be taken for granted.
Despite being ranked below Cape Verde set the recent FIFA World Cup in the US alight and went toe to toe with the likes of Argentina.
"So be careful of you undermining teams and also let's learn from Capo Verde in the World Cup that you must respect all your opponents and it's all on the pitch and until the referee blows his final whistle, then you can say you've won the game."
"Otherwise, I don't live in the space of complacency because I've lost many games to teams that in my career were bottom of the North or no one ever saw them coming. So you've got to respect it," he said.
