Maccabi Haifa Head Coach Barak Bachar reigned from his post after a 4-0 home defeat to Maccabi Netanya at Sammy Ofer Stadium. Following the game he spoke about his decision to leave the Greens.

“This is an extremely difficult moment for me. I’m saying this with tears in my eyes. I feel that the team needs a change. I worked very hard to turn this team around, but it didn’t work. My heart aches for the fans. I have just informed Ya’ankele (owner Yakov Shachar) that I am resigning. It hurts deeply, but I believe this team needs a change. I tried, but it didn’t work.”

“I stand by everything I did, but sometimes you have to know when to step aside. Maybe this is a kind of… I wouldn’t call it burnout, but things just aren’t working. There is a good, talented team here. We could have gotten more out of this squad, certainly in terms of results. It simply didn’t happen. I gave Ya’ankele, Lior Refaelov, and Itzik Ovadia a big hug. I was given every condition necessary to succeed, everything I asked for. Nobody imposed anything on me.

“I love this club, I love the people and I love the incredible fans. I can understand why they were calling for me to resign. I take responsibility. I’m sure this club will embark on a new path, because it needs fresh blood, something different and I take full responsibility for everything.”