Zammit appointed new City coach

Paul Zammit is the new coach of Valletta FC. His move had been in the air for some days after the Premier League club made him their preferred candidate to fill the post vacated by J.J. Aquilina last week.

Discussions took some time to conclude as Zammit was still bound by a contract to Mosta.

A deal was finally struck yesterday afternoon after all parties agreed on the compensation to be paid to Mosta for the premature termination of Zammit's contract.

Kevin Fenech, Mosta's representative on the MFA council, said: "An agreement has now been reached. Zammit is free to move."

The Mosta official said the committee will now begin the process of identifying candidates to replace Zammit as head coach of their club.

Paul Spiteri, the executive vice-president of Valletta FC, expressed his satisfaction at Zammit's appointment.

"We are delighted that our efforts to appoint a new coach have been concluded successfully," he said.

"After the resignation of J.J. Aquilina, we decided to go for a young coach with ambition. We think that Zammit fits the bill perfectly."

Zammit's first assignment was to meet the Valletta players at the Salinos grounds yesterday evening.

"I am glad that the matter has been resolved amicably," Zammit said.

"Leaving Mosta was not an easy decision but after a thoughtful reflection, I decided that the time was right for me to seek a bigger challenge.

"I believe this move represents a forward step in my coaching career. I'm fully aware of the greater demands that come with coaching one of the big teams here but I'm excited about it."

At 36, Zammit is considered one of the brightest coaches around. Holder of a UEFA 'A' coaching licence, last season he guided Mosta to promotion to the Premier League.

Mosta currently stand bottom of the standings with five points but comments on their general performance have been favourable, considering the squad limitations and the inexperience of most of their players.

"I take this opportunity to thank all those who supported me during my time at Mosta," Zammit said.

"They showed faith in me despite my relatively young age but I worked very hard to improve the set-up.

"My hope is that Mosta continue to build on the progress we have achieved together in recent years."

Zammit's immediate target as Valletta coach is to improve the team's results in their bid to attain a Championship Pool place. The Citizens are currently sixth in the standings.

Tomorrow, Zammit will have his first opportunity to gauge the potential of his new team in a friendly against Division One team St Patrick.

His first acid test will be on December 3 when Valletta square up to bitter rivals Floriana in a delicate Premier League match.