Mifsud says move will not influence his future plans

Lillestrom's German head coach Uwe Rosler was sacked yesterday.

Lillestrom finished fourth in the league, nine points behind champions Rosenborg Trondheim.

News of Rosler's departure comes amidst frenzied speculation over the future of Malta striker Michael Mifsud whose contract with Lillestrom is due to expire at the end of December.

The 25-year-old Mifsud yesterday joined his Malta team-mates for training at Ta' Qali ahead of tomorrow's friendly match against Lithuania at the Hibernians Ground.

Contacted by The Times soon after international news agency Reuters reported that Rosler had been axed, Mifsud said: "I'm surprised to hear that Rosler is no longer the coach of Lillestrom.

"During his time in charge of Lillestrom, Rosler had a positive influence on me in that he always regarded me as a key player for the team."

Mifsud, Lillestrom's top scorer in the league with 11 goals, has received a new offer from the Norwegian outfit but the indications are that the Maltese stalwart has set his heart on a move to a more glamorous league and will therefore reject the proposal from his present employers.

Asked if the club's decision to part ways with Rosler could have any influence on his future plans, Mifsud promptly replied in the negative, an answer which may be construed as another strong hint that he is seriously considering other offers, especially from English clubs.

"Rosler's departure will not affect the decision on my future," Mifsud said but stopping short of revealing what his intentions are.

English newspapers and internet sites are awash with reports that Mifsud is a transfer target for several English clubs with Premier League outfit Sheffield United believed to be leading the chase. Premier League clubs Bolton Wanderers and Reading and second division Coventry City are also said to be monitoring Mifsud closely.

The Daily Star reported last weekend that Sheffield United had agreed a deal worth £700,000 (around Lm446,000) for Mifsud but gave no details about the terms of the move.

As Mifsud will be out of contract in January, Lillestrom will not be entitled to compensation if, as expected, the former Sliema and Kaiserslautern forward joins another club.

Mifsud figured in Lillestrom's final league game, a 2-0 win over Lyn Oslo, the weekend before last, but he could still make a handful of appearances for the Norwegian club before the end of his contract.

Next Saturday, Lillestrom will open their Royal League commitments with a group match away to Sweden's Hammarby. The Royal League, founded in 2004, is contested by a total of 12 teams, namely the top four-placed clubs in the leagues of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Lillestrom have been drawn in Group 2 along with Danish clubs FC Copenhagen and Brondby and Hammarby.

It remains to be seen if Mifsud gets the chance to play in this competition if he does affirm his intention to leave Lillestrom in the next few days.

Club owners criticised

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Norway's coaches has lashed out at club owners after Rosler became the eighth coach to be sacked or resign from a premier league team this season.

"This is not worthy of Norwegian football. This will have negative implications for football," Teddy Moen, head of the Norwegian Football Coaches Association, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"The clubs need a more long-term perspective. Only one team can win the league, and there will always be two teams that step down (to a lower division), so club owners need to be more realistic."

Moen said one reason for so many managerial changes was that Norwegian clubs have increasingly been organised as limited companies whose owners have tougher financial demands.

"But many of these investors don't know anything about football," Moen said.

Other coaches who have left their teams during the 2006 season are Tromso's Ivar Morten Normark, Start's Tom Nordlie, Viking's Swedish coach Tom Prahl and Valerenga's Kjetil Rekdal.

Both Molde's head coach Arild Stavrum and Hamar Kameratene's trainer Frode Grodaas were fired after their teams were relegated from the elite division.

Rosenborg's coach Per-Mathias Hoegmo chose to quit after the club's deputy coach led the team to its 14th league title in 15 years while Hoegmo was on sick leave.