Ismaili are known for their attractive brand of football but that is not enough to bring them titles, according to coach Mark Wotte. The Dervishes continued their recent revival after claiming a convincing 3-1 victory away to Ittihad in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday. They built on their win over bitter foes Ahli by the same scoreline last Sunday to spoil the debut of Ittihad coach Mohamed Amer and lift some pressure off Wotte. The Dutchman is keen to instill a winning mentality into his team regardless of whether they deploy their attractive game. "I witnessed something strange in Ismaili which I did not find in other parts of the world," he told the post-match news conference. "Ismaili players prefer to play beautiful football even at the expense of defense and that costs us a lot. "We want to change that and have the winning mentality needed to win trophies. We want to compete for the league title." Ismaili proved too strong for Ittihad, producing a fine display that was orchestrated by lively playmaker Abdullah Saied. Saied, who vowed to do his best to regain his place in Egypt's starting line up, unsettled the hosts' defense with his skills and scored two identical free kicks to help Ismaili claim all three points. The three-time Egyptian champions lie fourth in the league table with 19 points from 11 games, five behind leaders Zamalek. "I want to thank Saied for his superb performances of late," Wotte, who took over at the club in the summer, added. "It is too early to predict who would win the league. I expect a fierce competition that probably will not be settled until the last match."
