The former Bafana Bafana striker admitted they no longer have a chance of winning the title and can only focus on finishing the season strongly to build up for 2019/20 season.
"Any coach would love to finish in first position but the reality is that we are out of it, we can only finish between second and fourth position. For us now it's just about making sure we finish the season in high spirits," said McCarthy after their 1-0 defeat to Golden Arrows at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
McCarthy was asked if the club is ready to play in CAF competitions against the best teams in Africa, to join the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates who have made name for themselves on the continent.
"I think for the players it would be nice to play in Africa but we need to be honest, we don't have the luxury of a big squad like Sundowns and Pirates, we are just a small team, we can't handle too many games. You have MTN8, Telkom Knockout, Nedbank Cup and league, so with CAF it can be too much for our small team, we have to be realistic," he insisted.
McCarthy was asked about the rumours linking him to Bidvest Wits and the future of veteran midfielder Teko Modise.
"To who? The other day it was SuperSport United, now Wits, are you guys serious? Swear on your mother! For real guys? Shut the front door, this is shocking and news to me," he said.
"About Teko, I doubt he will stay with us, he's been exceptional for us and he has a good chance of following in the footsteps of both coaching and analysing."
