"I'm honored by the nomination. It is the fruit of a team effort," Hassan Shehata was quoted saying in an interview published on the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) website.

"The fact that, Egypt, (Ahmed) Hassan, (Mohamed Nagy) Gedo and me have been shortlisted for this year's award is a great achievement for Egyptian football and it proves that it is the best in the continent," he added.

Talking about the Pharaohs' preparations for the soon-to-come South Africa clash, the three times African champion admitted that there is much work to do. "We won't include any new players at this stage. We will depend on our regular players, except for Mohamed Zidan (Dortmund) and Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland) as the game does not feature in the FIFA calendar."

Finally, the Egypt coach urged all Egyptian players to work hard if they want to join the national team in Nile Basin Championship next month.

"We can use some new players in the Nile Basin Championship. There will be a lot of league matches and i'll pick the best elements," Shehata said, urging players to deliver at the club level to break into the national squad.

The 61-year old tactician also praised progress in the Egyptian Premier League, highlighting the attacking display of most of the teams and its entertainment factor. "All teams play attacking football now and it helped us in terms of strategy and also players."

The Pharaohs coach will announce the Egypt squad for the upcoming Qatar friendly on Saturday. "It comes after they won the World Cup bid. I think it will be an enthusiastic match for both sides," he said.