Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has revealed two glaring weaknesses he saw in Byrne Omondi’s game when he initially overlooked him from the initial CHAN 2024 squad he has since improved on.

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has lauded Bryne Omondi’s remarkable improvements at the 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN) on home soil, which has seen him possibly cement his status as the nation’s established first choice goalkeeper.

Omondi was not part of the initial squad McCarthy had named for the tournament, but a friendly loss to Kariobangi Select FC forced him to reconsider, redrafting him back into the set up.

However, McCarthy was far from convinced about two glaring weaknesses about his game, despite the fact that Omondi had established himself as a key goalkeeper during his predecessor Engin Firat’s regime, who gave him his debut for the side in June 2023.

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Explaining recently, McCarthy revealed two things he had to work on about the Bandari goalkeeper, who is set to join Gor Mahia for the upcoming 2023/2024 season, which made him one of the biggest standout performers at the ongoing tournament.

“Most of the videos and matches we had seen, he was a player who makes a lot of individual errors that became very costly,” McCarthy explained as quoted on Nation Sport.

 “So when we integrated him with the team, we focused a lot not just on his performance but also on his concentration and focus levels.”

The former Manchester United first-team coach revealed that developing leadership qualities was another key priority.

“We tried to instill a little bit of leadership in him because when you are the number one choice for the match day, you have to be a leader from behind, because he is the one who sees everything clearly,” McCarthy said.

Those improvements, he believes, have been evident throughout CHAN.

“We worked on his focus levels, and now you can see the quality. The talent he has shines through because he is more focused in games. 

“Now the team fully depends on and trusts their goalkeeper because they know that mistakes come very rarely. 

“He deserves the matches that he played, where he was phenomenal for the team. Hopefully, he will continue to grow game by game.”

Omondi has been one of Kenya’s most consistent performers at the tournament despite the team’s quarter-final elimination to Madagascar. 

His commanding presence between the posts has not only boosted the Stars’ defensive stability but also signaled the arrival of a new long-term option in goal.

For McCarthy, Omondi’s transformation stands as one of the biggest positives to emerge from Kenya’s CHAN campaign — a reminder that with the right guidance and confidence, raw talent can be turned into dependable quality at international level.