McCarthy threatens to send home some Harambee Stars players
By Luke Oluoch, September 8, 2025Harambee Stars coach has sent a stern warning to national team players, threatening to banish any indisciplined players from the national team setup.
Speaking on Monday, September 8, 2025, ahead of the World Clash against Seychelles, McCarthy dismissed assertions of taking a ruthless approach since taking over the reins of the team on March 7, 2025.
Discipline and consistency
“I have not been ruthless; it is just a matter of being consistent and disciplined. If players think there’s no need to be disciplined in the national team, then you won’t achieve your goals and get where you want to be,” he stated
The tactician recently ruffled feathers after he dropped Gor Mahia’s Austine Odhiambo from his latest round of call-ups to the national team, in what many pointed to as a case of indiscipline.
Despite giving the subject a wide berth in his pre-match conference against Gambia, McCarthy has come out to read the riot act to players who will not subscribe to his lofty standards.
Send you home
He has maintained that the national team is not a preserve of any exclusive group of players, as he expressed his readiness to work with players who demonstrate a disposition to learn.
“If you come to the national team and you don’t have the willingness to work hard, I will send you home. There are many other players who want the opportunity, and those called up must prove they merit it,” he added.
He opines that all players handed the national team call-up should show they merit the call-upith continued hard work and high levels of discipline.
If we don’t see the hard work and consistency in the national team, then you don’t improve yourself, and you are also not going to help your teammates. You only end up lowering the standard, and it’s not something that I’m going to allow in the national team and this country,” he stated.
“We select players based on merit and not just talent. Talents get you through the door, but that is it. You have to have some discipline and work hard. Without discipline, you end up being a phenomenal player in the Kenyan league, but no one wants to touch you anywhere else,” he stated.