Al Ahly legend Taha Ismail has asked coach Pitso Mosimane to find a Plan B after the club failed to defend the Premier League title and lost in the Super Cup final to Tala’a El-Gaish.
Taha specifically believes Mosimane must come up with a plan that is able to deal with fewer open spaces, especially in the domestic games.
Change of strategy
"The wasted chances remain a problem, though, it should be a major part of the team’s training," Ismail is quoted as saying by KingFut.
"In the African competitions, the matches are more open, there are more spaces, which is something you rarely find in the domestic league and cup, in this case, you need alternative strategies."
The retired Al Ahly and Egypt striker praised the club's new signings, saying they will help raise motivation in the team.
"During ENPPI’s game [on Saturday], Al Ahly had new elements that added to the overall speed of the build-up, including [Luis] Miquissone and [Ahmed] Abdelkader, and I think if Ammar Hamdi played he would have made it even better," he added.
"Mosimane reached the peak with Al Ahly, he’s won the Caf Champions League, Caf Super Cup, and Fifa Club World Cup bronze medals, it’s natural to have a drop in performance due to the loss of motivation, which is the reason why we are seeing new faces on the pitch."
Ismail's call for an alternative strategy comes a few days after another former Al Ahly star, Mohamed Fadl, asked the coach to be more daring.
Next Match
"Mosimane was too cautious, and I hope that he will be more daring and take more offensive risks," said Fadl.
After they lost the cup, Mosimane and his technical bench as well as his players were fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($19,092) by the club's president Mahmoud El-Khatib.
BreakingLines.com.Meanwhile, Al Ahly's former star Adel Abdelrahman has claimed Aliou Dieng managed to prove Mosimane wrong.
The midfielder impressed during the round of 16 of the Egypt Cup tie against ENPPI after he had been benched in most cases before, as El-Sulya and Hamdi Fathy were preferred.
"Dieng proved Mosimane wrong, whenever he plays, he shows impressive performances," Abdelrahman said.
"Salah Mohsen should also have more playtime, he’s not just a substitute, he can make the difference."