Meticulous Wanderers aiming high

Sliema Wanderers have high hopes that their off-season endeavours to ensure the best possible build-up for the new campaign will reap the desired dividends in 2011/12.

The optimism in their camp was palpable yesterday as the Blues kicked off their pre-season training in Tignè.

While most of their Premier League rivals are giving trials to a host of foreign players, Sliema have acted swiftly to secure their three main targets.

After Brazilian playmaker Jackson Lima extended his contract towards the end of last season, Sliema tied up deals with Brazilian forward Jorge, formerly of Vittoriosa Stars, and Bulgarian duo Rumen Galabov, ex-Marsa-xlokk, and Danail Mitev, a newcomer to Maltese football.

Former Tarxien Rainbows midfielder Ryan Grech has also joined the Blues on a one-year deal.

The arrival of the new foreigners and the meticulous work of coach Danilo Doncic, whose appoint­ment in February sparked an immediate revival, and the club committee, led by president Steve Abela, have raised hope that Sliema can atone for their disappointing campaign last season when they ended up playing in the Relegation Pool.

“We have almost finalised our squad selection,” Doncic said.

“We began to plan for the new season soon after our last league game in mid-April. I’m happy with the squad. There could still be some minor alterations to the squad, both in terms of new additions and players who may leave the club, but the base is in place.”

Doncic refused to disclose his target for this season but made it clear that Sliema, who will be having a 10-day training camp in Bulgaria next month, are looking upward.

“As the club that has won most trophies in Maltese football, Sliema can’t be happy with seventh place,” Doncic said.

“We will be working hard but without doing a lot of talking. Then, when the end of the season comes, I hope that we achieve something important.”

Abela said Sliema have devoted all their attention to two objectives with Doncic as coach.

“Since Doncic took over on February 1, our immediate priority was to secure our Premier League status as early as possible after we finished in the Relegation Pool,” Abela said.

“We also started discussing how we can improve the squad for next season. As we finished our commitments early, we had an advantage on the leading teams in that we had more time to finalise our squad.

“All the new signings have been picked by the coach and we fully agreed with his choices. I hope that his judgment will be the right recipe to bring success to Sliema this season.”

The Sliema president didn’t mince his words when asked about the club’s prospects.

“I would be lying if I said that Europe is our only target,” he said.

“I want Sliema to win an honour but we have to proceed with caution. It’s important that the team starts to pick points from the opening games to avoid a repeat of the situation we found our-selves in last term.”

New recruit Galabov is keen to help Sliema reach their aims in 2011/12.

“With Sliema, I will have the opportunity to show my abilities,” he said.

“Sliema are a big club with a clear vision for the future.”

Mitev singled out Doncic as the main reason behind his decision to pursue his career in Malta.

“I decided to join Sliema because my manager (Ivan Vassilev) spoke well about them but the biggest reason is coach Danilo Doncic,” Mitev said.

“I was with him at Lokomotiv Sofia and after a long conversation about his plans for the team, I made up my mind to join him.”