Wydad Athletic Club head coach Rulani Mokwena has made a daring proclamation amidst the club's difficulties and tensions between him and the Red Castle supporters.
The Botola Pro League powerhouse recorded their fourth straight draw in a 1-1 stalemate against Ittihad Tanger on Sunday. This comes after fans questioned Mokwena's abilities following a draw with FUS Rabat last week on Monday.
Wydad have so far accumulated 43 points from 25 league matches, with 11 victories, 10 draws, and four losses. The three-time CAF Champions League winners are currently in position four in the league standings.
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Following the game against Tanger, where Thembinkosi Lorch found the back of the net, Mokwena made unusual comments, suggesting that the club's management may let him go if he is deemed inadequate to steer the team.
''I'm sorry, I've worked very, very hard as a coach to build and to study and to research what works, it's worked for me in the past and I'm sure it will work here, it needs a little bit of time but I must tell you that I am in a position where I love the club so much and I can tell you guys if I am the problem, if I am the problem for Wydad, believe me, believe me, I will be the first one to ask for permission to go back to South Africa,'' Mokwena told the media.
''If I am the problem, I give the president and the board full responsibility to relieve me from my duties if I am the problem and I don't want to hold Wydad back if Wydad feels that they can be better with me, without me, then believe me, I love this club too much to be a problem at the club so that is that.
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''Let's not question the style of play rather, I mean you saw how many chances we had, today we had a lot of chances, we should have scored but that has nothing to do with the style of play. We hope so, we hope so but let's see what happens, you know, we haven't won a game in the last four, it's not good enough, my job is to win games, I am not winning games at the moment and I've got to take the responsibility, four draws in a row is not good for Wydad and that is very clear so we have a very important break, we have to discuss a lot of things and of course I know one of the things we will discuss and you want to discuss as the media is the future of the coach and that's okay, that's normal but you have to understand that I'm here, I'm here for three years, my contract is up until 2027,'' he added.
''My intention is to stay here for as long as I possibly can but to stay you need results and that's very, very important, the players understand that, you could see where they scored the goal, you see the celebration, they want to show that they are together with the coach and with the technical team and the staff but okay, people are impatient, you know, now society is a lot about fast, fast, fast, fast results, fast processes, fast, everything fast and I accept that, I really, really accept that and as I said earlier, if I am the problem for Wydad, if I am the problem, if Wydad feels that the coach is holding them back, Mokwena is holding them back, Mokwena is savvy, I love the club a lot, I will always love Wydad,I will support this club.''