Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy has revealed the reason why Lebogang Manyama was omitted from the squad that defeated Bidvest Wits in the first leg of their MTN8 semi-final clash.

Ayanda Patosi’s lone strike ensured that McCarthy’s side are in the driving seat ahead of their second-leg clash at the Bidvest Stadium on September, 10th.

Eyebrows were raised when reigning PSL Footballer of the Season Manyama was omitted from the squad, fuelling speculation that he is headed for the exit door before the transfer window closes.

McCarthy revealed that Manyama’s omission from the squad was due to the reports surrounding his future.

“I just felt that with the changes I made last week to the side, I left Lebo in and obviously I didn’t get what I was looking for from the performance against Platinum Stars, because of everything that was going on in the media, with is he gonna go, or is he gonna stay,’ he told KickOff.

“I felt this week, more so than ever that his mind wasn’t here. He was at training, he was present, but he had a lot of things going [on]. I had a chat with him, and obviously that was the general feeling I got.

“So I thought the most noble thing to do, if a player is gonna play half-hearted or half-minded, you’re not gonna get his full worth, his full potential.

“And the fans are gonna get on his back because of the news of, if he is gonna go, or is he staying. I don’t want the fans to start being impatient with him, because obviously it’s not his fault. You can’t control your mind to a certain extent,” he added.

The former Champions League winning man suggested that he protected the City captain by leaving him out of the squad.

“I thought the right thing to do was to keep him out of the firing line of people having a go at him. So I felt that this game [against Wits], is gonna need 100 per cent concentration, 100 per cent commitment from everyone.

“And if you are not gonna give 100 per cent, it’s better that you are out of the team, and that’s the reason why he was. He wasn’t 100 per cent at training and you can’t play ahead of guys at training that’s ready to die for the cause,” he concluded.

Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

– This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za