Wydad Athletic Club head coach Rulani Mokwena has stated he would resign if the club's leadership felt he was impeding their progress.
This declaration came after his side drew their fourth consecutive match, a 1-1 result against Ittihad Tanger.
Thembinkosi Lorch put Wydad ahead in the 31st minute, assisted by Samuel Obeng, but Tanger equalised late in the game.
The draw dropped Wydad to fourth place in the Botola Pro Inwi with 43 points from 25 matches, leaving them two points adrift of a CAF Champions League qualification spot currently held by ASFAR.
Mokwena's team has five matches to secure a CAF Champions League berth, and the pressure is intensified by RS Berkane's qualification.
Following the match, Mokwena defended his tactical approach, emphasizing that the team is creating opportunities but struggling with conversion.
However, the South African coach made it clear that he would accept full responsibility and step down if the club's management believed he was holding them back.
‘I’LL NEVER ABANDON MY STYLE OF PLAY’
“Look, when you bring me to Wydad, you bring me with a certain style of play, and I’ll never abandon my style of play. I’m sorry. I worked very hard as a coach to build, study, and research what works,” said Mokwena as quoted by FARPost.
“And it has worked for me in the past, and I’m sure it will work here, but it needs a little bit of time. I’m in a position where I love the club so much, and I can tell you that if I’m the problem for Wydad, I’ll be the first one to ask for permission to go back to South Africa.
“If I’m the problem, I give the president [Hicham Ait Menna] and the board full responsibility to relieve me from my duties. I don’t want to hold Wydad back.
“If Wydad feels they can do better without me, believe me, I love this club too much to be a problem here. Let’s not question our style of play. I mean, you saw the chances we created, but we have not won a game in the last four matches, which is not good enough.
“We have an important [FIFA] break, and we have a lot of things to discuss, and of course, the media will discuss the future of the coach, and that’s okay. You have to understand that I’m here for three years, my contract ends in 2027, my intention is to stay here as long as I can but to stay you need results.”
