Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has publicly expressed strong interest in a sensational return to English football, this time as head coach of former club Blackburn Rovers, as the Championship side continues its search for a permanent manager.
Blackburn are currently without a substantive head coach following the departure of Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill, who successfully guided the club to safety in the 2025–26 Championship season after stepping in on an interim basis in February to replace Valérien Ismaël.
Despite stabilising results, O’Neill opted not to take the job permanently, choosing instead to remain with Northern Ireland, leaving the Ewood Park hierarchy to begin recruitment for a new leader ahead of the new campaign.
Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy open to Blackburn Rovers return as a manager
McCarthy, who remains in charge of the Kenyan national team setup, has emerged as an admirer of a potential return to Lancashire, where he enjoyed a successful playing spell between 2006 and 2010.
Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, the South African legend made his intentions clear.
“I love Blackburn Rovers and I would put my life down that I would want that club to succeed so bad, to get them in the Premier League,” McCarthy said.
“And maybe that’s what they need instead of always going for the tried and tested?
The decision-makers are always there to make those hard decisions but if one day that call comes, I would be there in a heartbeat.”
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The former Manchester United forward coach, who retired from playing in 2013, has built a diverse coaching career that began at Hibernian in Scotland before taking managerial roles at Cape Town City and AmaZulu in South Africa.
He later worked as Manchester United’s first-team striker coach between 2022 and 2024, before taking over the Harambee Stars role in March 2025.
Despite his current international commitments, McCarthy admitted that several clubs hold a special place in his heart.
“Porto always has a special place because of my achievements as an individual, as a team,” he said.
“Ajax Amsterdam, a special place because it was my first club that took me from Africa and gave me the platform to be in Europe.
But Blackburn Rovers is where I was at home.
That is where my family is and there’s nothing greater than that. There’s not a single thing that I wouldn’t want to do to see that club succeed again. And if you have an opportunity one day to work there, I would lay my life on the line for that football club.”
McCarthy also acknowledged that he may not have the same managerial experience as other candidates but urged Blackburn’s hierarchy to consider taking a bold approach.
“I understand I’m a young manager, very fresh, new in this game,” he said.
“But then I look at it [the same] as playing football. Sometimes when you have a young player that’s talented, that’s good enough, are you going to take a risk?”
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He pointed to the success of Vincent Kompany as an example of trusting emerging coaches.
“Vincent Kompany, they’ve given him a chance and look what he’s done. He brought Burnley to the Premier League with an unbelievable [season], probably one of the best Championship seasons that I’ve seen a team have.
Then he’s gone to Bayern Munich and you see how he’s doing. Very inexperienced coach but when people believe in young people, they can exceed their expectations.”
McCarthy added that fear of failure often influences club decisions.
“They get scrutinised in the media for taking a risk on a coach who’s never really coached in the Championship,” he said.
“But sometimes the reward is far greater than the risk.”
As attention builds around Blackburn’s managerial search, McCarthy is expected to continue leading Harambee Stars during the upcoming June international window, where Kenya will face Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan in friendly assignments.