Full-back Ghanem said on Wednesday that he and his defense mate insist on leaving the club in the summer, following the criticism they received after the 4-2 Champions League loss at Club Africain.

However, manager Hassan jumped to the defense of his players, stressing that they are staying with the Cairo club.

“I understand the difficult situation they are both in, but I refuse to let them leave,” Hassan told FilGoal.com.

“There is no way that two players shoulder the blame of a defeat alone. I can see that Ghanem and Al-Safti are always singled out with criticism after any defeat.

“They started in our last six games prior to the Africain game and we didn’t concede, so why now hold them responsible?”

Ghanem and Al-Safti will both run our of contracts by 2013.