Khaled Galal (Photo: Zamalek's official website)
Zamalek's caretaker coach Khaled Galal has highlighted the importance of this week's Cairo derby against arch-rivals Ahly, insisting that the Whites can beat the league champions despite the club's recent crises and reconcile with their fans.
Ahly, who already secured the league title for the third time in a row with six matches to spare last month, will host Zamalek in the final round of the domestic competition on Thursday.
"The Cairo derby is a big chance for the players to reconcile with the club fans," Galal was quoted as saying by the club's official website on Monday.
"I am confident that the players can win and deliver a good performance despite of the recent financial crisis at the club. I hope that the problems will be solved as soon as possible to restore the needed stability," he said.
"The players are determined to return Zamalek back to its normal place," he concluded.
After a string of poor results that included a shock exit from the African Confederation Cup, Zamalek's board terminated the contract of coach Ihab Galal and named Khaled Galal as the caretaker manager over a week ago.
The team ended a four-match winless run with a convincing 2-1 win over Assiouty Sport in their penultimate League match on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, Zamalek named Swiss tactician Christian Gross as their new coach but he will officially take charge after the ongoing season.
Zamalek are currently third in the league table with 58 points, but they are likely to finish fourth and miss out on automatic qualification for the African Confederation Cup as Masry, who are fourth with 55 points, have four matches in hand.
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