Frustrated Mokwena gives ultimatum after Wydad are knocked out of cup competition and guaranteed trophyless season - ‘We either need to change our mentality, or we need to change our players'

Rhulani Mokwena’s struggles continued as his team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Moghreb Tétouan in the round of 16 of a domestic cup competition.

The loss extended their winless run to five matches, putting the coach under even more pressure.

His side has already missed out on the league title, which adds to the weight of recent poor results.

Now fighting for a second-place finish, Mokwena finds himself in a tight and demanding situation.

After the game, he addressed the media and spoke openly about the frustrations he was experiencing.

He pointed out that the team’s mentality is not strong enough to handle pressure situations.

Mokwena insisted that the mindset of the players must improve if they want to meet their objectives.

The coach believes that until this shift happens, the results will remain inconsistent and disappointing.

“The last 10 minutes is not good enough to try to show you want to win, we wasted 75 minutes with that. Only I 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 after the game.

He added, “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.”

He concluded, “I have enough experience of these types of games. 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.”

With Orlando Pirates announcing that Jose Riveiro will not continue as head coach next season, speculation is building around Mokwena’s future.

Mokwena, who is struggling in Morocco, may be tempted by a return to his boyhood club.

His past association with Pirates makes a potential reunion very possible.

The current challenges he faces abroad might accelerate the conversation around his return.

Pirates are likely looking for someone who understands the club culture and has a point to prove.

Mokwena could see this as a chance to redeem himself and reestablish his credentials in South African football.

With five games remaining, Mokwena’s side is just two points behind second-placed AS FAR.

The race for a Champions League spot is heating up, and the pressure continues to mount.

Winning all remaining matches might be the only way to salvage the season.