Rulani Mokwena gives update on Wydad technical team

Mokwena left Sundowns in what came as big shock to the local football fraternity last month, after guiding the club to a historic seventh successive DStv Premiership title, the inaugural African Football League crown, as well as the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup finals.

He has since been snapped up on a three-year deal by Wydad, who are looking to rebuild following their sixth-placed finish in the Botola Pro League and group stage elimination from the CAF Champions League last season.

A number of other changes have seen the likes of assistant coach Michael Loftman, and some of the performance analysts and support staff follow Mokwena out the door.

READ: Rulani Mokwena's first words as Wydad head coach

Speaking to Radio 2000's Game On host Thabiso Mosia on Monday evening, the reigning DStv Premiership Coach of the Season detailed why it has been challenging assembling his own technical team so far.

"We haven't finalised. It's a difficult one because I've accepted a project that everyone was saying to me, 'Where are you going? The club is on a free-fall, it's a mess, the former president is in jail, they don't pay players...' But what have I got to lose? Absolutely nothing," defended Mokwena.

"The experience of coaching in a different country, with a different environment – there's more to learn, there's more to gain, it's a great challenge, and it's an unbelievable club with incredible supporters.

"If the club finishes sixth, or fourth or fifth, it's not good enough, and that's obviously why they've asked us to come here and change things. 

"But when you try to convince some of the staff, it becomes very difficult because you also don't want to bring people in for the sake of it, you want to bring competent people who are not afraid of the challenge, so it's been a bit difficult to try to convince people to join us."

Though former Sundowns Diski Challenge team coach Sinethemba Badela has joined him in Casablanca, Mokwena explained why his trusted assistant Loftman has been hesitant.

"Michael Loftman is one of the people I wanted here, but he's really adamant on taking a sabbatical, because what we had discussed was that we would take a sabbatical, and that was before Wydad even came to offer me the job," he noted.

"But now that I've decided to take it, Coach Themba [Badela] has decided to join me. I don't know what the technical team will look like eventually, but I think Coach Michael will join a little bit later – he needs some time to rest and recover.

"Because, from a mental perspective and even health perspective, he's not well, especially after what happened with our previous club, but we are looking and I'm trying to also empower South Africans, trying to help some of the other guys.

"There's one or two who got retrenched at Sundowns, and of course then I've got to try and help them to feed their families."

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