Birkirkara have concluded their search for a new coach after they announced that Andre Paus will be taking over with immediate effect for the remaining of the 2019-20 season.
The Stripes have been looking for a new man in charge after former coach John Buttigieg handed his resignation last week, just over two weeks into the new campaign.
“Birkirkara FC is delighted to announce that it has reached an agreement with Mr Andre Paus to be the head coach of the club with an immediate effect,” the club said in a statement on its official website.
“Mr Paus shall arrive in Malta in the next few days and more details shall be given later during this week.”
Paus returns to Malta after an absence of five years.
In his only stint in the domestic league, the Dutch coach was named as Valletta coach for the second part of the 2013-14 season. He led the Citizens for 15 games, chalking up 12 wins and three draws as he steered the capital club to the Premier League and FA Trophy titles.
At the end of that campaign, the 53-year-old moved to Cyprus where he coached Anorthosis for 55 games. In Cyprus, Paus was also at the helm of EN Paralimniou after a seven-game stint in Greece with AE Larisa.
Following his experience in Malta, Paus has also worked two Dutch clubs – namely FC Twente with whom he was in the role of a scout and Quick ’20, where he was appointed as caretaker manager between April and June of this year.
In the past few days, the Stripes had been linked with another former Valletta coach, Danilo Doncic.
Times of Malta reported last weekend that Doncic, the former St Andrews coach, was on the verge of taking over at Birkirkara but the deal fell through just before it was rubberstamped by all parties.
Birkirkara were the most active team in this summer’s transfer window as they look to turn around their fortunes after last year’s disappointing campaign, which saw them miss out on European football.
Among the players they acquired were Italian defender Enrico Pepe, from Ħamrun Spartans, Malta international midfielder Ryan Fenech, formerly of Sliema Wanderers, and forward duo Federico Falcone and Edison Luis Dos Santos, known as Tarabai.
Still despite all these acquisitions, the Stripes have yet to pick up their first points of the season after sufferning back-to-back defeats to Floriana (1-0) and Senglea Athletic (1-0).
Paus is expected to make his appearance as the new Birkirkara coach on Saturday when he leads the Stripes in a derby against Balzan at the National Stadium.