Petrojet's Mokhtar eyes first League title

Petrojet coach Mokhtar Mokhtar said he's targeting the Egyptian League title this season to reward the club's Suez-loyal fans.

كتب : Sherif Tarek

الأربعاء، 19 نوفمبر 2008 - 00:17
Petrojet coach Mokhtar Mokhtar said he's targeting the Egyptian League title this season to reward the club's Suez-loyal fans.

The Petroleum side are topping the Egyptian league table with 25 points after a brilliant start to the season.

"I wish I could lead my team to the first Egyptian League title and dedicate it to our fans, who always back us up in the worst circumstances," Mokhtar told FilGoal.com.

The former Ahli assistant coach pointed out that he's adopting a different policy than last season when the team dropped in the second half of the league.

"Things have changed since last year," he added.

When asked about the team's potential shake-up, Mokhtar said he refused to transfer list any of his lads in the meantime.

No Changes

Midfield duo Waleed Soliman and Osama Mohamed have been both linked to imminent moves, but apparently they are going nowhere.

"We are not going to let anyone leave, especially Soliman and Mohamed, because we need their services in our League campaign," he said.

"They cannot exit now, they are bound to stay till their contracts expire in 2012."

Moreover, he said he tried to talk Hussein Ali, who was a key player in the team, out of moving to Ahli, but to no avail.

"I refused to give him the green light last season. Early this year, I tried to convince him to extend his contract, but he was too eager to seal a move to the Red Devils," he explained.

"Eventually, the boardroom accepted the Egyptian champions' offer, and we benefited from the deal."

He also reaffirmed that underhand negotiations are beyond acceptable.

"Some clubs contacted our lads behind our backs, which is so unethical. We would only deal with the legitimate and straight-forward ways," he added.