Egypt boss Shawky Gharib emphasized that he needs more time to complete a rebuilding process for the Pharaohs, saying that a foreign coach would have been no better.

The record seven-time winners are on the verge of missing out on the Nations Cup for the third consecutive time after a 1-0 home defeat by Senegal condemned them to a third-place finish ahead of their final game against Tunisia on Wednesday.

They need to beat Tunisia away from home to stand a chance of finishing as the best third-placed side in the seven groups - a target that looks highly unlikely.

The Under-fire Gharib, who was rebuked by local media following another lackluster display in the loss to Senegal, said he had his excuses.

"Our target was to build a new team for the Pharaohs,'' Gharib said in an interview with MBC Masr channel. 

"But we faced many difficulties such as the injury of some key players like Abdallah El-Said, Gedo, Amr Gamal and others."

The 55-year-old said recently his players lacked sufficient international experience, insisting that they need more time to gel into the team.

Under Gharib's helm, Saad Samir, Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan, Amr Gamal, Ali Gabr and Ayman Hefni have all made their international debuts, with some of them making a fine impact.

Egyptian Football Association (EFA) vice-chairman Hassan Farid said recently Gharib deserves to be given the same chance his predecessor Bob Bradley had. The former U.S coach failed to qualify Egypt for the 2013 Nations Cup before the team fell at the last hurdle in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

"A foreign coach would have been no better," Gharib added.

"The Egyptians are angry with our poor results in the Nations Cup qualifiers, this is normal. But nobody talk about my efforts to build a new team."

The EFA said Gharib's fate will be determined following the clash against Tunisia in Monastir.

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