Al Ittihad Tripoli head coach Rulani Mokwena has shared his thoughts on the team’s progress since taking charge.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach parted ways with MC Alger in mid-March to join the Libyan club, where he has reunited with Thembinkosi Lorch and Stephane Aziz Ki, both of whom he previously coached at Wydad Casablanca.
Mokwena expressed satisfaction with how the squad is adapting to his methods, noting that he has a strong group of players to work with.
“The team is responding well to the adaptation and some of the small details we want to make,” Mokwena told the club’s media department.
“We try to encourage them to have more of the ball, to express themselves a little bit more with the ball, to add a bit of intensity to their game.
“Okay, but we have to train for this and so far so good, we have a good team.”
Al Ittihad will return to action on Saturday, 11 April, when they face Shabab Al-Ghar in a league fixture, a match that Mokwena is aiming for maximum points at home.
“And we are prepared to play against Shabab Al-Ghar, who are a very good team,” he added.
“They play very vertical, very direct, very good strikers upfront with the mobility and the physicality for the duels and then of course with a lot of experience for the second balls in the midfield and very strong centre-backs who deliver the early ball and behind.
“But okay, in this moment we have to learn how to deal with the long balls, what to do when we regain the ball.
“But physically we are there, tactically we are there and we are very impressed with what we are doing and how the players are responding.
“We are looking forward to a very important game, a big game and a game that we know we have the responsibility to win because we play at home and I hope we get a good performance, number one, and number two we get a good result.”
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