Italian coach Mario Petrone will not be in charge of Msida St Joseph next season after he decided against signing a new deal with the Premier League club.

A statement from the Msida committee said that Petrone's decision not to renew his contract was linked to Roberto Goveani's resignation from club president last week.

"Petrone told the club that although he did not wish to leave Malta, he had accepted an offer from former president Goveani to become the coach of a top-flight team in Moldova," the statement said.

The Msida statement said that Petrone felt that the 2004/05 season had given him great satisfactions. Apart from leading Msida to their first FA Trophy final in their history, Petrone was also responsible for the re-structuring of the club's technical set-up.

"I wish that in the future I will be surrounded by the same kind of people I had here in Malta," the statement quoted Petrone as saying.

"I wish to thank all the Msida supporters for the respect they showed me during the time I spent in Malta as well to those outside the club who assisted me."

Petrone was appointed Msida coach before the start of last season after the club announced their link-up with Goveani, a former Torino president.

After missing out on a place in the Championship Pool, Petrone made up for this disappointment by steering the team to the FA Trophy final where they lost 2-1 to Birkirkara.

The Msida committee said they were disappointed that Petrone will not continue the project he has started.

They had words of gratitude towards the Italian coach for his sterling work with their club and wished him success in his new experience.

Msida also said they are holding talks with a view to engaging a new coach.

"The club hopes to announce the appointment of a new coach in the coming days," the statement concluded.