Rulani Mokwena after cup exit: ‘We need to change our players or coach’
After being bundled out of the Moroccan Throne Cup, Wydad AC coach Rulani Mokwena suggested the club may need to make raft changes to succeed.
Wydad AC suffered a Round of 16 exit from the Moroccan Throne Cup after losing 1-0 to Moghreb Atlético Tetuán. The match was played at the Saniat Rmel stadium on Saturday night.
Moreover, the loss all but crashed all of Mokwena’s hopes of winning some Moroccan silverware in his maiden Botola Pro season. In fact, the former Mamelodi Sundowns tactician has been thrust under pressure, especially after playing second fiddle to RS Berkane in the league.
RS Berkane claimed the 2024/25 Botola Pro League title last month after opening an unassailable 15-point lead ahead of their challengers.
Meanwhile, Wydad AC Beat FUS Rabat in the last round of the domestic cup. However, they could not keep up with their momentum against Moghreb Atlético Tetuán. On-loan Sundowns midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch was in the starting line-up while Cassius Mailula was on the bench.
WHAT WYDAD AC COACH MOKWENA SAID
And Mokwena was livid with how his men applied themselves in the crucial match. The outspoken gaffer said the club needs to change players or the coach, himself.
Mokwena was particularly irked by his players’ mentality, as they knew this was their last chance at claiming silverware this season.
“The last 10 minutes were not good enough to try to show you want to win. We wasted 75 minutes with that. I only saw the desire to want to win after the opponent scored, and then it’s too late. That mentality should have been there at 0-0,” said Mokwena.
“No, we either need to change our mentality, or we need to change our players, or we need to change the coach. Because that type of mentality, it’s not a performance issue; it’s a mentality issue. I told them at half-time, the game is 0-0.
“I have enough experience of these type of games. If you don’t take the game, the opponent will take it. It’s not that they want it; they say if you don’t take it, we will take it. And we didn’t take it, so the opponents took it.”
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