Abdeslam Ouaddou on managing Relebohile Mofokeng amid ‘off-form’ criticism | OneFootball

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Ouaddou on Mofokeng management amid scrutiny on dip of form

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Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has shed light on his man management of Relebohile Mofokeng, who has been under scrutiny for his performances.

The 20-year-old starlet has had somewhat of a slow start in the final third, as he is yet to register a goal or an assist in 11 games across all competitions in the 2025/26 campaign.

Despite lack of goal contribution, Mofokeng has been pulling the strings leading up to clear-cut chances, but a section of the Bucs faithful remains concerned.

Now, the Moroccan mentor stressed the importance of giving the Bafana international trust and love in a bid to help him get out of the rut.

“First of all, as a coach and as an ex-professional football player, it’s important to give love to your players, to show them trust, to build strong values between your players. This is very important,” said Ouaddou.

“We are not speaking about tactics or techniques – we are speaking about the human being, so these things are very important.

Ouaddou went on to back Mofokeng to bounce back to his best, stating that the support the player receives within the club keeps him motivated and able to block the outside noise.

“The other thing is that he is in his house, he has some fantastic people in the club, the management, people who love him and he loves the club,” the Pirates boss added.

“So, he feels love inside the club and it’s what keeps him [going] and he was fantastic today [Tuesday] and I was happy about his performance. I hope he will keep going like that and to show the best of Rele.