Marumo Gallants head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is adamant that his side will escape relegation come end of the season.
Ouaddou, 46, has already led the team to a sensational victory in his first match at the helm shocking Orlando Pirates 2-0 this past weekend.
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The former Moroccan international centre-back, who also plied his trade for Fulham and Olympiakos, joined Bahlabane Ba Ntwa last Thursday, succeeding Dan Malesela who had been shown the exit door alongside Molefi Ntseki.
Speaking to the media after their historic win over the Buccaneers at the Free State Stadium, Ouaddou emphasized on what he had to focus on first during his first few days and maintained confidence that they would still be campaigning in the Betway Premiership when the 2025/26 season commences.
“I think the game was not easy as you all see,” Ouaddou told the media.
“Pirates is a very big team. They have a lot of qualities on the sides. They have top players who are able to score, everybody is able to score. And the danger can come from everywhere.
“So, it was the difficulties to stop that team.”
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“The target since I came, it was to give confidence to my players first of all. You know when you concede 30 goals, you have to change something. That’s what I told them.
“You have to change something if you want to save the club. And the first thing is to give the confidence to the players, afterwards it’s to build the foundation and the foundation when you play more than football is to strengthen.
“Even you score many goals and your defence is struggling, if you score three goals and concede four goals it’s zero points.
“So, my first job was to strength our defence and to work the compactness of our team.
“The first thing I told the players when I arrived was that they are very talented and experienced. Marumo Gallants has quality players. But in football, sometimes all a team needs is confidence. That’s exactly what we worked on in the first two days. I can guarantee you 100% that we will save the club – with determination, team spirit, and a fighting mentality.
“Yes, of course, we will save the club – I am positive and optimistic.”
