Żejtun Corinthians president Joe Gauci praised his committee for their work in the run towards reaching the club’s historic promotion to the BOV Premier League.
Despite having the 2019-20 season ended abruptly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Żejtun were in pole position on 38 points after 19 games.
Following the Malta FA Council’s vote on Monday, the Blues were confirmed as champions of Division One with Lija Athletic joining them in the upper echelons of local football.
“I’m very happy!” Gauci told the Sunday Times of Malta.
“We worked hard for this, building it up bit by bit and the response, even from the town of Żejtun itself, was incredible.”
Gauci explained that the promotion has put Żejtun into a new light and despite the uncertainty before the vote, the verdict which crowned champions within all divisions gave them “what was deserved”.
“Being promoted to the Premier League made the people very happy,” he said.
“Something which improved with all this is the trust people now have for the club’s committee. They all saw how serious and disciplined we are in our work and we got the respect of not only people from Żejtun, but also from the MFA.
“In the first division, we were the team which would has the most support at the stadium. I just hope that now more people will come and support us in the Premier League.”
Interestingly, the Corinthians determination on the pitch was not the only thing admired.
Unlike the spontaneous celebrations in Floriana and Marsa which sparked mass criticism during times like these, the ones in Żejtun were controlled.
“We tried to host celebrations within the Covid-19 rules,” Gauci explained.
“(Floriana) have a lot of supporters who live away from the area. It was a bit different for us with most of the supports from Żejtun itself. So, it was a bit easier for us to coordinate the people attending.”
Now that the 2019-20 season has been concluded, Żejtun are now preparing for their first experience in the Premier League with Gauci citing the club’s budget being top priority, especially with the Premier League’s higher expenses and also the repercussions of the pandemic.
However, he highlighted his satisfaction with his current players and coaching staff.
“I’m very happy with them and I don’t really think there will be a lot of changes,” he said.
“Our intention is to stick with the same coaches and build upon what we have right now.”
In a statement on the club’s Facebook page following promotion, Gauci admitted that his one regret was how the club’s nursery was not up to the level he wished it would it be.
Despite Żejtun having five home-grown players in their squad this season, Gauci said they expect the number to be higher. He even urged parents to consider registering their children with the club.
“We tried to make it better but in reality, the attendance is still very low,” he admitted.
“We’re now thinking about restructuring (the nursery) but we have to keep in mind that the fee we charge is low compared to other clubs.
“You also have the issue that very few are ready to make the necessary sacrifices. I hope that (the promotion) will encourage more to join especially if they know that they have better prospects to play in the Premier League, if they’re good enough. This didn’t exist before so I hope it will have a good effect.”
Despite both Żejtun and Lija being promoted, the MFA Council vote also confirmed Tarxien Rainbows’ survival despite being the only club mathematically relegated throughout Maltese football. This means that the Premier League will now consist of 16 teams instead of 14.
Gauci’s concern with this is mainly the depth of squad required for so many matches to be played.
“Having 16 teams, the problem is you need a big squad to cover injuries throughout the season,” he said.
“But I don’t agree with some saying we need to reduce the teams and increase the level of play. As a club, you always aim to be the best and if you’re not there, you don’t have many reasons to continue playing. Ultimately, it is a case of how much money you inject into football which raises the level.”
With squad-depth being an asset, clubs who, like Żejtun, cannot really rely on their academies will have to look elsewhere to fill up their squads.
“In terms of Maltese players, in the Premier League, no one’s going to hand you their good players. They’ll give you players who don’t really play,” Gauci said.
“Having a Maltese player would be ideal but there aren’t many, so you have to rely on the big teams to give you what they don’t need. The fact that we can bring over foreign players lets us build a competitive squad.
“If the airports are not opened (by the start of the season) because of Covid-19, we will be at a disadvantage. We had six foreigners, from which we confirmed five already, but we need to find more.
“If I’m not able to do this, we’re going to have to play our first division team.”