The Cairo giants' hopes of claiming the Egyptian League title for the first time since 2004 dented following a poor run of results.

In an attempt to restore order in the crisis-hit club, Hollmann suspended five regular players, who were underperforming during the past few months.

The German tactician believes Zamalek need more depth in their squad.

"Zamalek should sign a striker, an attacking midfielder, a left-back and a central back," Hollmann told Dream Sport on Sunday.

The White Knights suffered from lack of reliable strikers, with Junior Agogo often finding himself isolated upfront.

Back-ups Mostafa Gaafar, Abdul-Halim Ali and Sherif Ashraf failed to impress.

The displays of Gamal Hamza, a talented forward, were inconsistent and he was subsequently punished.

Zamalek scored 15 goals so far this season, eight of which came from defenders.

The 11-time Egyptian champions signed two playmakers in the close season, Alaa Kamal and Mahmoud Samir, but neither impressed.

The left-back position also annoys Hollmann as duo Ricardo Alves and Osama Hassan, who used to play that role, are among the five punished players.

Hollmann's comments that he needs a defender come as a bit of surprise as he stated more than once that Zamalek have the best defenders in Egypt.

Board Interference

Former Ahli coach Hollmann is frustrated at what he calls 'Zamalek board's interference in his job'.

"The board made changes in the coaching staff without my approval," the disappointed Hollmann said.

"I never demanded the board to do so, but they keep interfering in my job. Everyday I hear something unpleasant in the club."

Zamalek sacked assistant coach Tarek Yehia last month, replacing him with Ahmed Ramzi. They also appointed Ahmed Refaat as a football director.

Since his arrival, Refaat became Zamalek's spokesman and was given control over first-team affairs along with Hollmann.