Steven Pienaar hopes to have the same impact at Bidvest Wits as Benni McCarthy when he helped Orlando Pirates seal the double treble.

The Clever Boys open up their PSL campaign against Benni’s Cape Town City outfit, and Pienaar spoke of his desire to bring the club success, much like McCarthy did when he joined the Soweto giants in 2011.

‘Obviously, he [McCarthy] came back and he did very well. He won all the cups that was on show,’ he told KickOff.

‘For me that’s the bar I want to reach, but it is not going to be easy.

‘Obviously, I don’t want to compare myself with him, he was in a good team and won things with a good coach.

‘But we got a good team here as well, and I hope we can do the same,’ he added.

Pienaar also spoke of his delight at facing former national teammate McCarthy, who now serves as the Citizens’ head coach.

‘I’m looking forward to coming up against Benni. He is a big brother and I have to do one over him.

‘We all want to win obviously, and we will still meet in the MTN8 as well,’ he said.

Having defeated City 1-0 during their pre-season preparations in Cape Town, Pienaar revealed that Wits know what to expect of Benni’s side.

‘We know what we are going to expect and the way Benni wants to play.

‘It’s going to be an interesting game, but they are coming here and we have to make sure we get stuck in to them, and not make it easy for them and take it from there,’ he concluded.

The two sides face off at the Bidvest Stadium, with kick-off set for 20:00.

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/Backpagepix