Retired midfielder Ahmed Hassan said he won't play against Ahly in the Egypt Cup semis later this month when he makes his coaching debut at the helm of Petrojet.

Player-manager Hassan, a former Egypt skipper whose decorated career saw him win four African Cup of Nations titles with the Pharaohs, stunned observers when he said he could effectively come out of retirement while guiding Egyptian Premier League club Petrojet.

Reports had indicated he might do that when Petrojet take on Cairo giants Ahly, where Hassan played from 2008 to 2011, on 17 September but the 40-year-old revealed he will only be on the bench.

"I want to focus on my role as a manager during the match against Ahly. The playing thing will come later," Hassan, who originally announced his retirement in December 2013 after ending an unsuccessful stint with Ahly's arch-rivals Zamalek, told a news conference on Tuesday.

"My primary target now is to win the Egypt Cup and I believe my team boast the players who can do that," he added.

Petrojet have never won any title since sealing promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 2006. Their best achievement was finishing third in the 2008-09 season.  

Hassan served as an assistant to former Egypt coach Shawki Gharib during a failed campaign to qualify for the 2015 African Cup of Nations. 

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