"Maihoub took over at the club until we hire a foreign manager," Masri general manager Mohsen Sheta told FilGoal.com.

"The new coach could be from Germany or Portugal. Maihoub will be in charge of the first team affairs until we settle on the new boss in the coming few weeks."

Mokhtar has decided to step down following Masri's stunning 3-1 defeat by promoted Smouha, who registered their maiden Egyptian Premier League victory, on Thursday.

His departure came as a surprise, given that he turned around the fortunes of the Port Said-based club following his summer arrival.

Masri's enthusiastic supporters, who were angry after their team suffered a second consecutive loss, chanted against Mokhtar during the Smouha match.

Mokhtar left Masri in seventh place with 16 points from 12 games, just three behind fourth-placed Ismaili.

Maihoub was the assistant of Ahli coach Hossam Al-Badri but both men handed in their resignation after the Egyptian champions lost 3-1 to bitter rivals Ismaili last week.