With no BOV Premier League matches this weekend, the attention of Malta’s leading lights has already turned to the Euro 2012 qualifier away to Georgia next Friday.
After back-to-back defeats to Israel (3-1) and Latvia (2-0), Malta will be aiming to open their account in Georgia and coach John Buttigieg yesterday called on his players to embrace a result-driven mentality.
“This will be our third game in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign,” Buttigieg told a news conference at the Centenary Hall.
“All games are important and difficult. Georgia have made significant steps forward in the last few years. They have certainly enjoyed a good start to their Euro 2012 campaign with two draws against Greece, one of the top-ranked nations in our group, and Israel.
“Although we’re aware that Georgia will be another tough test, we are looking at this game with optimism. The team’s performance in the first match against Israel was not good. We struggled to keep possession, even though for a period the result was 1-1.
“I saw progress in our team in the second qualifier against Latvia. We played better than we did in Tel Aviv and created several scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, we failed to take away the chances that came our way.
“With that kind of performance, we should have gained a better result (vs Latvia) but we must continue to believe in our abilities to attain a positive outcome. We must start to think more in terms of getting the job done.
“The players know this and, with more attention on the pitch, we can aspire to achieve a good performance and a good result.”
Widespread reports that striker André Schembri and goalkeeper Justin Haber were in line for a return to the national squad were confirmed yesterday when the Ferencvaros duo were named in Buttigieg’s provisional squad.
Goalkeeper Haber is back in the reckoning after recovering from a hand injury that kept him out of Malta’s friendly against Macedonia and the qualifiers against Israel and Latvia.
A slight injury sidelined Schembri in the early weeks of the season but his hiatus from international football dates back to October last year.
The forward’s decision to sit out Malta’s final World Cup qualifier against Portugal and focus entirely on his efforts to claim a regular place with his then club SK Kaernten, of Austria, didn’t go down well with Buttigieg who overlooked Schembri for a number of international matches this year.
Schembri’s hat-trick in Ferencvaros’s 3-1 win at Vasas last weekend brought a change of heart by Buttigieg who deemed that the striker deserved to be recalled.
“I can only choose an 18-man squad for a match and because our foreign-based players are involved in matches this weekend, I have to wait before naming the final list,” Buttigieg said.
“As far as Schembri and Haber are concerned, I think they deserve to be in the squad. We constantly monitor the progress of our players abroad and from what I’ve seen, André’s performances have been good lately.”
Malta will be without Daniel Bogdanovic for the Georgia game as the Sheffield United striker is ruled out by suspension after two bookings in the opening qualifiers.
Wing-backs Clayton Failla and Alex Muscat, both of Sliema Wanderers, are injured.
The absence of Bogdanovic, who started his first league match for the Blades in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, is a setback.
“When players are out, they’re always missed but, on the positive side, their absence gives other members in the squad the chance to show that they are worthy of a place in the national side,” Buttigieg replied to a question about Bogdanovic.
Buttigieg had expected Kenneth Scicluna to recover from hernia surgery in time to make the trip to Georgia but the Valletta defender is still not 100 per cent fit.
“I was hoping that Scicluna would be available but he hasn’t featured for his club so far this season,” Buttigieg said.
“He did some training with us but he’s still feeling discomfort from the operation.”
For the umpteenth time in the last 14 months, Buttigieg was asked whether he was concerned that Michael Mifsud, Malta’s top striker, is still without a club.
“I always get asked this question and my answer is always the same,” Buttigieg lamented.
“It’s not the ideal situation but I can assure you that he (Mifsud) is not happy about it. He’s trying hard to find a club.
“Michael did play in the final three months of last season (with Valletta) and he made a big difference to that team.
“He’s an important player and I chose him because I am convinced that he’s an asset for the national team. My hope is that he resolves his club future soon.”
According to the original schedule for Group F, Malta had an away double-header against Georgia and Croatia between October 8 and 12 but the latter match has since been switched to November 17.
The fixture change received the thumbs-up from Buttigieg.
“It will take us around 12 hours to reach Georgia,” Buttigieg said.
“We spend a lot of time travelling because we can’t organise chartered flights but the MFA are doing their best to make the best possible arrangements.
“I believe it’s an advantage that we’re not playing Croatia so soon after the Georgia game.”
In order to minimise the effects of jet-lag, the Malta squad will have four full days in Tbilisi before Friday’s qualifier. The MFA also opted for a longer-than-usual stay when the national team played Israel in Tel Aviv last month.
Bjorn Vassallo, the Malta FA CEO, said these arrangements are intended to ensure a proper build-up for the national squad before matches.
“This represents an effort on the MFA’s part to make sure that the conditions for the players before an international away match are as comfortable as possible,” Vassallo said.
“We want to give the team enough time to recover their energies after a long journey.”