A stuttering Zamalek side go into their home league fixture against Alexandria's Ittihad at Cairo Stadium on Thursday amid uncertainty over the future of manager Ehab Galal. Following Sunday's last-gasp 1-0 league defeat by Maqassa, which also followed another loss to Ismaily with the same scoreline in the run-in for a Champions League qualifying runners-up finish, Galal was quick to announce his resignation as first-team manager. Zamalek chairman Mortada Mansour, for his part, declared that he would accept Galal's resignation, only for the latter to backtrack on his decision shortly afterwards. Ex-Maqassa boss Galal, appointed in January this year, stated that he is ready to see out his one-and-a-half year contract. "I want to see out my contract with Zamalek," Galal said after meeting with club officials. "I'm not that person who'd evade his duties. I respect all the decisions of the club board, who put their trust in me in such difficult circumstances." The Whites, whose hopes to finish as runners-up behind recently-crowned league champions Ahly were dented further with the Maqassa defeat, go into the game without skipper Hazem Emam and playmaker Mohamed Ibrahim. The duo was snubbed as a disciplinary measure after the pair reportedly engaged in a spat with Galal, who left them out of the Maqassa squad. Zamalek are currently third with 54 points, six adrift of second-placed Ismaily, with only four games left. Ittihad are 12th on 36. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
