South African tactician Rulani Mokwena has finally broken his silence following his departure from Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca.
Mokwena got off to a brilliant start at the club before a string of poor results latter part of the football campaign led to his departure.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns gaffer was asked to proceed on leave before permanently parting ways with the club in April.
Wydad finished the season in sixth place and did not secure direct qualification to the Champions League next season, which was one of the direct reasons for the breakdown of the relationship between the two parties.
Explaining his exit from the club, Mokwena said, “If you go to the website and their social media pages, that statement was actually removed 10 minutes after it was posted. Even the situation of taking a break was not from me. I had no issues with pressure and psychological breakdowns and all these things. As a coach I was prepared to step down because there was a lot of talk”
“I remember one day I said to the president I cannot take it when I invest so much. I work so hard to bring so many players’. Almost all of them for free, and I have to sometimes, from my own pocket, pay some of the players, pay some of the staff, go and buy training equipment from my own pocket, and invest in the club”
“And then I have a vice president of the club asking me ‘do you love this club’. I would never subject myself to some of the things that happened, and still, be subjected to some of the treatment. That’s when I said to the president, maybe there’s a misalignment somewhere, and it would be better for me to step down” he concluded.
