After beating El-Entag El-Harby in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday, Zamalek coach Jesualdo Ferreira has expressed concerns about player exhaustion because of the domestic and continental games sequence.

Zamalek almost paid the price of their profligacy in front of goal against a resilient Entag El-Harby side but were lifted by a brace from star winger Mahmoud Kahraba to secure a 2-1 Egyptian Premier League win at Cairo's Petrosport Stadium on Saturday.

"We had more score chances during the game to finish the game early but the players failed due to exhaustion," Ferreira told the post game's press conference.

"We played with a different squad due to injuries.

"[But] we have to give the new players chances to play to help the team in future."

The current game sequence demands that the Zamalek team play every three-four days — an interval that Ferreira says is insufficient for players to recover.

"We are already in October, Zamalek squad played in many tournaments so far on top of joining the national teams, that all affected the players' performance."

"It's the game number 40 for me with Zamalek without a rest and that couldn't help us to perform well," the Portuguese tactician added.

Ferreira under pressure

The Portuguese coach revealed that he does not understand Arabic to comprehend what is being said about him in the Egyptian media.

Zamalek chairman Mortada Mansour threatened last month that he would sack Ferreira from his post after losing the Egyptian Super Cup to foes Ahly.

"There is a big pressure on the team from the Egyptian media but I don't understand Arabic," Ferreira said.

"I don't know what the media says about Zamalek as they are not used to see Zamalek win trophies." 

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