Yet he was able to steal the show with the Bucs as they cruised to another treble.

With his first proper pre-season at Pirates under coach Augusto Palacios – which McCarthy rates highly for turning his fitness around – it has driven the 34-year-old to set bigger goals. His hunger for success is fuelled by the exploits of  fellow 34-year-old, Siyabonga Nomvethe, who found the back of the net 20 times in the Premiership on his way to scooping the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot and three other accolades, including Footballer-of-the- Year.  

“Being the top goal scorer is most definitely one of my targets,” McCarthy said.

“Last season was all about adapting and assessing the situation. Now I know things better and I know where I am. I will be taking the bull by the horns, going all guns blazing from the start.

“I feel like a 25-year-old. I feel good. I feel light. There are no more love handles.

I am fit,” he said. “If I am injury free I want to play more games and a bigger role. It is all about doing better than last season. It was my first season and I think I did pretty well for a 34-year-old. Nomvethe set the bar pretty high last season and I am looking to do even better than he did.”

 The Buccaneers’ arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs will be first to come up against the determined McCarthy in the Carling Black Label Cup at FNB Stadium on Saturday night, where fans call the shots. The all-time leading Bafana Bafana  scorer is a favourite among the Sea Robbers with  Moeneeb Josephs the only player with more votes than him in the starting XI.

 They will be coming up against an Amakhosi that have been boosted  with new faces and a new coach to move away from the dreadful campaign of last season.

Chiefs are in possession of one of the strongest backlines in the country that now includes four Bafana Bafana players after Siboniso Gaxa, Morgan Gould and Erick Mathoho signed to join Itumeleng Khune.

McCarthy hardly cares about the men who will be keeping an eye on him.
  “Why should I be scared because Bafana Bafana have been leaking goals for a long time?” he said.

“Pirates don’t have that many players in Bafana Bafana but we won almost all the cups last season. It is them who should be worried.

 “It is great for South African football that Chiefs have stepped up their game because they are a powerhouse  but at the moment we are the best team.”

 Tomorrow night the starting XIs for both teams, selected by fans, will be confirmed. Pirates’ Palacios has, however, vowed that he will have the last say on who represents his side in the Soweto derby with favourites like Mark Mayambela and Sifiso Myeni still to be assessed by the medical team despite making the cut.

“I support this cup and I will assess the squad after it is confirmed but I will only play the players who I think are ready for a full 90 minutes,” Palacios said.