Football/ Egypt national coach: “We bank on a victory over Algeria to seal reconciliation with our disgruntled supporters”

A week after Egypt's mishap versus the strong team of Zambia in Cairo (1-1) as part of the second phase of the combined qualifiers for the 2010 World cup and Africa cup of Nations competition, Echorouk had a telephone conversation with the Egyptian national coach Chawki Gharib who harks back to his team's dismal performance against the surprising squad of Zambia, an untoward development which touched off the deep anger of all the Egyptian football fans.   

• *Echorouk: One week after Egypt’s botched match versus Zambia, how things are going for your squad in the face of the popular ire?
•  
• I should say that the Egyptian public’s anger has now somewhat abated, as we are now preparing with the utmost rigour and seriousness for our next qualifier on June 7th in Blida against Algeria with the adamant resolve of wrenching the 3 points of victory.
•  
• *Echorouk: In view of the meritorious draw (1-1) wrenched by Algeria in an away match versus Rwanda, don’t you think that the Algerians have now a psychological edge over the Egyptians ahead of the Blida encounter?…
•  
• Things are now quite different as we have viewed several times the Egypt/Zambia game and we brought into focus all the lapses and drawbacks of our team in order to ward off the same mistakes during the next qualifiers.
•  
• The players are now more determined than ever to carry the day in the next confrontations so as to snatch with flying colours Egypt’s ticket for a qualification to the 2010 World cup finals of South Africa.
•  
• *Echorouk: Could you tell us now about Egypt’s preparation for the much-awaited qualifier against Algeria on June 7th in Blida stadium?
•  
•  
• As a matter of fact, the Egyptian national squad is scheduled to embark on a training camp in the Sultanate of Oman shortly and this training session will be wrapped up with a friendly game against host country Oman.
•  
• We preferred to drive away our players from heavy pressure by opting for a peaceful environment in the Sultanate of Oman.
•  
•  
• We will arrive in Algeria 48 hours before the Blida match and we will be accommodated at the Mercure hotel on the eastern outskirts of Algiers.
•  
• I am confident that we will be extended a very warm welcome on the part of our Algerian brothers on account of the deep-rooted values and principles commonly shared by the Algerian and Egyptian peoples.
•  
• I do hope that the upcoming Algeria/Egypt qualifier will be played in the best conditions and in all fair-play and sportsmanship.