CAIRO: Zamalek coach Henri Michel says his side are still a work in progress following their surprising 1-0 defeat at home to Gaish in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday. The Frenchman, who returned for a second stint with Zamalek, enjoyed a winning start when the Cairo giants beat Ittihad 1-0 last week, albeit in an unconvincing fashion. They once again failed to impress and were punished by Gaish, who claimed all three points after Togolese striker Mickael Dogbe struck on the hour mark to round off a neat breakaway move. This defeat is not the end of the road, Michel, who took over at the club following the sacking of Swiss Michel Decastel, told the post-match press conference. Competition is fierce this season, no club managed to get maximum points from five games. Zamalek are getting better despite tonight s loss and I believe we will further improve in the upcoming games. It was the second defeat for the White Knights in five matches. They lie fourth in the league table with seven points, four adrift of leaders and arch-rivals Ahly. Michel was left to rue the inability of his strikers to convert any goal-scoring opportunity during the game. Amr Zaki, who is yet to open his account this season after returning from a loan spell with Wigan Athletic, partnered diminutive striker Sherif Ashraf upfront. Both men failed to make a tangible impact and Ashraf was replaced with Mido, who joined Zamalek on a season-long loan from Middlesbrough, in the second half. Mido, who still looks short of match fitness, was also a peripheral figure. The wastefulness of our attack cost us. We have very good players upfront but still failed to score, Michel added. Things should get better when Zaki and Mido regain full fitness, the 61-year-old concluded.
