Egypt's new coach, Javier Aguirre, says he will start his mission with the Pharaohs from point zero, insisting that no place is guaranteed in his squad. “I have full respect for my successor Hector Cuper, but I have my own strategy that I want to apply with the Egyptian team,” Aguirre said in an interview with ON Sport TV channel on Sunday. Egypt unveiled the 59-year-old Mexican tactician and former coach of Mexico and Japan as the new coach in a press conference two weeks ago. He will replace Cuper, the former coach. This summer Cuper led the Pharaohs in Egypt's first World Cup since 1990, yet disappointed football-obsessed Egyptians with three defeats. Some deemed the losses a result of his conservative tactics. “Cuper's achievement of guiding the team to the World Cup finals deserves respect, but all must know that there will be a new era and we will start our work from point zero,” stated Aguirre. “The team had good moments in the African Cup of Nations and also at the World Cup but we will try to deliver a better performance. “The Egyptian team has a good mix between experienced and young players. Currently I'm working on knowing the local-based ones and the others who play abroad.” “I will do a balance between defence and striking. Firstly, the ball must be with us and then we should turn this dominance into goals and finally the result is the most important thing,” he added. The Mexican coach's first competitive match in charge of Egypt will be against Niger next month in the 2019 Cup of Nations qualifiers. “I watched all the local based players recently whether from the stands or through videos with the help of my assistants,” explained Aguirre. “We don't have enough time ahead of the Niger match, so we will work directly on our selections.” “Sure I know the names that deserve to join the team but all people won't be satisfied with our selections, as you have millions of journalists and media men.” “I will play the matches with any player as I don't pay special attention of big names or stars. We don't have a guaranteed place in our squad.” “The squad will be announced within a few days so I only search for fighters on the pitch.” “In the coming period we will work step by step. The most important thing now is securing our qualification for the 2019 African finals,” concluded Aguirre. Egypt is fourth in the 2019 CAN qualifiers Group J with no points after losing their opening game against Tunisia 1-0 in June. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
