Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy prefers to be ahead of the pack in the Absa Premiership title race, rather than fighting to his way back to the top, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.

The Citizens were recently eliminated from the Nedbank Cup after falling to a 2-0 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs in the quarter-final at the Mbombela Stadium last weekend.

City will now shift their focus back to the Absa Premiership when they travel to Golden Arrows on Saturday, with three points on their mind to help boost their chances in the league title race.

The Mother City-based outfit currently sit fourth in the league standings with 40 points from 24 games, four points behind log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

‘That’s not my message to the team to start slow and then return stronger. I like to start well from the first minute,’ McCarthy told the media.

‘The players are the ones who are responsible for this. The minute the players step over those four lines, as a coach you’ve got no control and no say on how players enter the game.

‘I am not a fan of us taking our time to get into the game, and we give ourselves a mountain to climb in the second half. I like to be top. I like to be the first one at the top of the mountain, and then everybody else plays catch-up so that I can get my rest. We rest on our laurels, so that we can play ourselves out of everything.’

McCarthy insists that his side will now shift their focus to the next two Absa Premiership fixtures against Golden Arrows and Bloemfontein Celtic, with his eye on claiming maximum points in both matches.

‘I am concerned because a bad result can have a negative impact on the players in our next two games,’ he added.

‘Last season I experienced it. But I think that it would be a shame if these boys now surrender what they have been working towards. Are you willing to throw away a whole season of hard work?’

Cape Town City will be hoping to bounce back when they take on Golden Arrows at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off set for 3pm.