Discipline key for Mido's return to Zamalek

Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam believes that Zamalek can retain the Egyptian title as he returns to coach the club

Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam says maintaining discipline will be key as he returns to coach Egyptian champions Zamalek for a second time.

He replaces Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta, who was sacked on Sunday.

Mido will be working alongside Hazem Emam, who has been appointed as the club's football director.

"We'll work towards the future, to rebuild the team, maintain discipline and set a new clear working system," Mido told Al Ahram newspaper.

Emam is also a former Zamalek player and while they did not play together at club level, they played alongside each other for Egypt at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.

The duo were in Qatar working as TV analysts when the decision was taken and are set to return on Monday and start work immediately as the team prepares for Tuesday's league match against Dakhlia.

"Time is limited which makes it impossible to make any changes before tomorrow's game. I will depend on the current formation for the game against Dakhlia," he said.

"Then I will focus on the determined players, who'll be selected to play based on their effort and determination to play and win."

The former Libya coach Paqueta had only been in charge since November and oversaw just five games during which time they won just once, drew twice and lost twice.

The results left Zamalek fifth in the Egyptian Premier League, one place and one point behind their great rivals Al Ahly.

"I still believe that Zamalek is the strongest team this season, even more than Al Ahly, and is capable of defending its title," Mido insisted.

"It's still too early to tell who will win this season's title - it is only in week 12 and both Ahly and Zamalek have three games in hand."

Mido retired from playing in 2013 and took on his first coaching role in January 2014 when he took over at his former club Zamalek.

During his first season in charge, Zamalek finished third in the league and secured a place in last year's Confederation Cup.

He also won the Egypt Cup, making him the youngest Egyptian manager to win a major trophy.

But at the end of July 2014 Mido was replaced by Hossam Hassan following some modest performances and results as well as differences with the club management.

A year later, he took over at Ismaili but after just six months Mido once again started having differences with the club's board regarding the team's star player Hosni Abd Rabou.

A row between the two on the touchline during a league match recently did not go down well with the club's fans and prompted Mido to step down from his post.