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Benni determined to bite back
07/11/2007 21:56 - (SA)
Alec Kennedy
Blackburn - Benni McCarthy has set his sights on proving he can be more than a one-season wonder at Blackburn Rovers after recovering from the shock of being axed from the first-team squad.
The South Africa striker is back in favour at Ewood Park after being surprisingly dropped by manager Mark Hughes earlier this season.
McCarthy, a 2.5m pound buy from Porto in July 2006, was axed for four games before being recalled by Hughes last month and he has now netted five goals in five games to cement his place in the starting line-up.
The Cape Town-born star admits he was surprised to be dropped by Hughes after netting an impressive 24 goals in his first season at the club last year.
But McCarthy, who is set to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, insists he is already on the way to bouncing back after being given a second chance by Hughes.
McCarthy said: "When I didn't play, I was upset, but it made me work harder and when I got my chance, I took it. It's not very nice, if you have always been a first-team player, to have to sit on the bench.
"Not even I know what happened. The next thing I knew, I was sat at home and not even in the travelling squad.
"My game had gone down, my smile was lost and I was out of it completely, but looking back I probably had a good rest.
Starting to take command again
"In the games I didn't play, I rested and took care of myself and just started to think about what went wrong, where it went wrong and what I had to do to get back.
"But I'm starting to take command again and get back into the rhythm and the swing of things."
McCarthy's form last term saw him linked with a move to Chelsea during the closed season, but Rovers rebuffed all interest in the 29-year-old.
But after breaking the 20-goal barrier last season, McCarthy believes that many critics are determined to label him as a one-season wonder.
He said: "I get quite taken by people saying I had a lucky first year and that it was a fluke.
"I'm getting good performances and I'm getting goals and now people are starting to say, 'We doubted this guy for nothing.'
"'He did it in his first season and now he has started to show glimpses of that again, so maybe he is not just a one-time wonder and he has what it takes.'
"I let my football talk at the end of the day and when the season ends we'll see how many goals I have scored. But I want people to say again that maybe the second year was luck and the third year won't be so lucky."
- SAPA
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