The promoted side, who are languishing at the bottom of the league table with five points, failed to register a single victory under Frenchman Neveu in the 10 matches they have played thus far.

Smouha could have slumped to another defeat by Gaish if it wasn't for a late strike from Ahmed Belal.

But the Alexandrian side's lackluster performance wasn't exactly the straw that broke the camel's back.

"We decided to appoint Al-Gamal a week ago because his relationship with the players became intolerably bad," Smouha vice-president Ismail Faid told FilGoal.com.

Neveu will either take up the football director job at Smouha or leave the coastal club.

Smouha will have to pay Neveu EGP 40,000 should he opt to depart because his contact includes a compensation clause.