Caanen urges ‘small island, big thinking’ philosophy

This evening’s Premier League duel between Valletta and Hibs, two heavyweights of Maltese football, comes on the eve of an important meeting between the coaches of the top-flight clubs and Malta mentor John Buttigieg on the much-discussed training scheme of the national squad.

Valletta coach Ton Caanen has been outspoken in urging the Malta FA to revamp the system and the Dutchman yesterday reiterated his view that the time has come for the international players to spend more time training with their clubs.

“I think it’s clear now that the time has come to make changes,” Caanen told The Times. “We need to talk and develop a good co-operation between the clubs and the national team coaches.

“As things stand, every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I only have around six players for training because the others are with the national squads. I’m happy when I have all the players training with me because I can work more on tactics and other specific areas.

“Everyone must work to improve Maltese football. I don’t have the wisdom to do this alone but with my experience, I’m willing to help. We have to share our qualities and find a new way to boost the clubs and the national teams, even at youth level.

“It’s very important that we work together but we need to change the mentality. Yes, Malta is not a big country but our philosophy should be ‘small island, big thinking’.

“If we believe that we can achieve things, maybe in three or four years’ time, Malta will be on a par with Cyprus.

“The clubs have a responsibility to improve their set-up and invest in their coaches. I believe that the MFA should make it mandatory for Premier League clubs to have coaches with a Pro Licence in two or three years’ time as this would surely help to raise the level of football here.”

Hibs’ Mark Miller admitted that the national squad’s training scheme creates several complications for the clubs but feels that it should be tweaked rather than abolished.

“There have to be adjustments to the training scheme,” Miller said.

“When there are no competitive matches for the national teams, the players should spend more time with the clubs. How I feel is that in the months of September, October and November, we really suffer because we’ve got players in the Malta U-17, U-19, U-21 and A squads who are involved in tough competitions and this causes a chain reaction.

“To give you an example, seven of our players are currently on international duty with the U-17s in Andorra. I haven’t seen much of my players in the first few months of the season because of all the international commitments. The players are being asked to do too much and these things must be looked into.

“Personally, I think that, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the players can train with the national coaches as well as one evening training session per week, say Monday or Tuesday. Four sessions per week looks like a good solution to me as this would also allow our best players to train on a proper grass pitch and those who are injured can receive the right treatment because at Ta’ Qali they have the best facilities.

“I prefer to look at the broader picture. Some of the players can earn up to €600 for training with the national team and if they stop, who is going to reimburse them? I think this is also an incentive for them to go to Ta’ Qali and be more professional.

“My priority is to keep my players happy. Some clubs can afford to employ the players on a full-time basis but not all the clubs can do it.”