A number of the Red Devils' key players were injured this term, and the young coach let several youngsters fill in for the veterans.

Some of the recently-promoted players proved their worth with the senior team, such as Ahmed Shokri, Mostafa Shebeita and Abdullah Farouk, much to Al-Badri's satisfaction.

"The unavailability of many regulars forced us to depend on more than six youngsters, whom I wanted to promote to first-teamers in the first place," Al-Badri told Dream TV.

"We needed to dismantle the squad and also change our formation and strategy."

Ahli has been successfully employing a 4-4-2 formation since Al-Badri's appointment, although he was first criticized for changing the traditional 3-5-2 formation.

"I'm really satisfied with our performances in the first half of the current season," the former Egypt international added.

"When Mohamed Abou-Treika and Mohamed Barakat make their comeback after the league break, we will be much better."

"Furthermore, Emad Meteb will have hit peak form by the second half of the season, which should inject more zeal."

Meteb has recently recovered from a serious knee injury which he sustained while playing for Ittihad Jeddah, where he spent last season on a loan basis. He's still struggling with fitness problems.