Martin Jol, coach of Egypt's Al Ahly (Reuters)
Ahly coach Martin Jol expressed his satisfaction with his work with the Cairo-based club, noting a number of achievements accomplished with the team in four months since he arrived to Egypt last March.
"I achieved the league title with players I didn't choose after a season [during which] the team didn't win the league, the cup and Africa champions League," Jol told a radio programme early on Monday.
"I am doing my best to test all the players to help the team as I called Mohamed Hani, Ahmed El-Sheikh and Ahmed Adel to join my starting lineup," he added.
The former Tottenham Hotspur coach led Ahly to claim the Egyptian Premier League title two games before the end of the season with 74 points, seven ahead of rivals and second-place Zamalek.
The Cairo giants could not beat Alexandria's Ittihad, playing out a 1-1 draw at Borg El-Arab Stadium, as they prepare for the final-week Cairo derby clash with arch-rivals Zamalek.
"The draw is a negative result for the league champions, but we [will] concentrate now on the Egypt Cup and CAF Champions League games," the Dutch coach said.
The Ahly squad is suffering from the absence of key players Ramadan Sobhi, Abdallah El-Saied and Malick Evouna due to injuries, leading the team to suffer three defeats in their last five games.
"After Evouna, Sobhi and Abdallah El-Saied were injured, I informed the players if we didn't win the coming games we have not to lose," Jol added.
"We play in a professional way as Ahly is a [great] team, so we achieved the league title after [coming in second] last season," the Ahly coach concluded.
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