Ahead of the two teams’ Absa Premiership clash, Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt feels that the arrival of Benni McCarthy at Cape Town City will only have a major impact next season.

The Clever Boys open the PSL campaign against the Mother City-based outfit at the Bidvest Stadium on Friday night, and Hunt believes that they will come up against the same plucky City outfit that only gave them one point from their two league clashes last season.

“We only got one point from them in the two league games last season. They’ve got a good side, which hasn’t changed, it’s pretty much the same as last year,” he told KickOff.

“I don’t expect anything different, it’s still the same team with the same players. Obviously, the left-sided player [Aubrey Ngoma] is not there [due to injury], but it’s still the same – the right side and the back.

The former SuperSport United mentor will come up against his former player, McCarthy, on Friday night, but Hunt is adamant that Benni’s football philosophy will only take effect in the 2018-19 campaign.

“I don’t think we’ll see any change with the new coach now, the change will come as the season progresses.

“I think there’s still a lot of last year’s [patterns and combinations] left over, but he’ll change, I’m sure, as he goes along.

“Obviously, I’m happy for Benni, he’s starting out and he’s got an opportunity, but you can’t judge a man after one or two games, you need to judge him after 30 games, and where he’ll be at the end of the season.

“I’m sure he’ll do well,” he concluded.

The two sides clash at 20:00.

Photo: Chris Ricco/Backpagepix

– This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za