The Brazilian was credited for turning around Ittihad's fortunes last season as he helped them finish tenth in the Egyptian Premier League after they struggled at the wrong end of the table before his arrival.

But the Alexandria-based club made a disappointing start to their new campaign.

They lie third from bottom in the 16-team table after collecting just six points from their first seven games.

Widespread reports said Cabral would be sacked after Ittihad suffered a humiliating a 6-3 defeat by Military Production on October first.

"The current results do not reflect the efforts we make," Cabral, who led Cairo giants Zamalek to a host of titles in the early 2000s, told a news conference on Thursday.

"I hope the fans would judge my work at the end of the season not on a match-by-match basis."

Ittihad are one of the most popular clubs in Egypt although they failed to win the league since its inauguration in 1948.