With Rulani Mokwena yet to get Wydad Casablanca firing on all cylinders, his former staff member with experience in the Moroccan top-flight landscape has explained why.
Mokwena arrived at Wydad with high expectations, after The Red Castle and their supporters were impressed with the type of football he implemented at Mamelodi Sundowns.
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However, Mokwena's start in Casablanca has been far from being spectacular and perhaps unsurprisingly, the 37-year-old coach has already faced reports that he would be replaced, if the team does not improve.
Lying fifth on the table, eight points behind log leaders RSB Berkane almost midway through the season, Wydad fans are on the edge, with their high standards of competing for the title.
However, South African coach Darian Wilken, who was one of the assistant coaches at Raja Casablanca in the 2023/24, has explained why Mokwena could not hit the ground running.
"Having worked with Rulani for a few seasons at Pirates, he took [Sinethemba] Badela with him, they are doing a really good job. Really difficult environment they've stepped into. It's such a different culture to anything we've known before," Wilken said on Mike Morton Talks Football YouTube Channel.
"We also know how volatile the African market is, especially out of these big clubs, Wydad, Raja, Esperance, a couple of games and you're already under pressure. I think he has managed the situation well," Wilken said.
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"They've got a similar situation to what we have at Simba, a ton of new players. What's difficult about that it is creating cohesion, synergy, culture, you have to set the standard. He has done that really well, you see it in the last few performances, [Mehdi] Moubarik number six, he was a Raja player last season, good player, you see how he fits into the team and is fluid in that setup," the 30-year-old coach said.
Wydad will be back to league action when they host JS Soualem on Saturday evening.