El Gohary took Egypt to victory in the 1998 Cup of Nations

El Gohary - currently coach of Jordan and the only African to have won the Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach - insists he will not be stepping in to take over.

"I am in the middle of a very important stage at the moment and I am totally committed to Jordan," El Gohary told BBC Sport.

He recently took Jordan to the Asian Nations Cup finals for the first time in their history.

Disappointment

El Gohary has taken charge of the Pharaohs on four different occasions since his first appointment as national coach in 1988.

During these spells, the 62-year-old took Egypt to the 1990 World Cup finals - only the second finals appearance in their history - and won the 1998 Nations Cup in Burkina Faso.

Bruno Metsu has been linked with the Egypt post

He resigned for the last time following the previous Cup of Nations in Mali in 2002.

And he did not hide his disappointment at the Pharaohs' elimination at the group stage of Tunisia 2004.

"I believe Egypt should have played the final match, as our team was one of the best in the tournament," he stated.

"All the top candidates are out of form. Cameroon, Senegal and even Tunisia have not shown that they deserve the trophy."

However, El Gohary refused to comment on Egypt's performance under Salah.

"My ethics force me not to evaluate a colleague's work," he said.

The EFA board is expected to meet on Monday to decide on Salah's future.

Members of the Federation confirmed negotiations with foreign names including the French duo Bruno Metsu and Philip Troussier in addition to the Dutchman Ruud Krol.