Valletta captain Ryan Fenech (centre) battles for possession with Gżira United’s Ryan Deguara during Wednesday’s U*Bet FA Trophy semi-final. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Forced to play catch-up to Birkirkara for most of the season, Valletta have the chance to seize the initiative in the title race on Sunday as a win over the champions would take them one point clear with five games to go.

Valletta captain Ryan Fenech believes that a three-point haul on Sunday would galvanise his team’s belief that they can go all the way.

“More than helping us to win the league, a win would give us the faith that we can achieve what we are aiming for,” Fenech said.

“A win would put us on top... we haven’t been there for a long time.

“It would inevitably lift the atmosphere both at the club and among the fans.

“A win is a win. Given our positions in the standings, a win against Birkirkara would be an extra bonus.

“We are looking forward to Sunday and I believe that, as we have shown in our last match against Birkirkara (Valletta won 2-1), we can emerge victorious.”

A 2-2 draw with Mosta looked to have endangered Valletta’s title hopes but their 3-1 win over Balzan and Birkirkara’s slip-up to Hibs put their bid back on track.

A win would put us on top... we haven’t been there for a long time

Valletta will be aiming to end a potentially defining week in their season on a top note on Sunday.

They are gearing up for their encounter with the champions with a positive mindset after recording a routine 2-0 victory over Division One side Gżira United to set up a U*Bet FA Trophy final against Sliema Wanderers on May 4.

“After Birkirkara lost to Hibs, we knew that we had an important week ahead of us,” the 27-year-old Malta midfielder said.

“Everyone has been talking about our match against Birkirkara but we also had a Trophy semi-final to attend to.

“All the players were concen-trated on our cup tie against Gżira United. After winning that match, we are now looking forward to Sunday’s game.

“It’s a very important match but not do-or-die. A draw would still keep us in contention as we are only two points off the top and teams can drop points in the Championship Pool.”

Fenech is pleased that the wins over Balzan and Gżira United have ensured a smooth build-up for Valletta ahead of Sunday’s meeting with the leaders.

“Every positive result has a good effect,” the City captain said.

“It makes your work easier during the week.

“We had a good performance against Balzan.

“We were not in our best condition in terms of football but we set out to pick the three points and we did just that.

“On Wednesday (FA Trophy semi-final) we knew that we were facing a team from the first division but we were also aware that they have some good players, especially the foreigners.

“We also knew that this was probably the game of their lives and Gżira gave their all.

“At the end of the day, I think that our superiority, our strength, came to the fore and we deserved to reach the final.”

Back in January, many had questioned the wisdom of Valletta’s decision to bring in a new head coach, Dutchman Andre Paus, and five new foreign players, namely Georgia internationals Nukri Revishvili and Irakli Maisuradze, Brazilian Alan Da Silva Souza, Nigerian striker Abayomi Owoni-koko and Moldovan midfielder Vladimir Rassulov.

It was suggested at the time that the changes may disrupt Valletta’s title bid as a new coach needs time to impose his philosophy and new players need time to gel.

Although Valletta are still a work in progress, the signs are encouraging as Paus, who has taken full charge of the team with former incumbent Mark Miller now serving as assistant coach, looks to be getting the best out of City’s glittering squad.

Fenech gave an honest reply when asked for his views on the mid-season changes at Valletta.

“The coach who has come in (Paus) works more on tactics,” Fenech said. “Initially, it was not easy to get used to his system but, in my opinion, we were lacking a bit in terms of tactical work.

“From that aspect, after two months, all the players feel that we have made a slight improvement, even in the way the team is deployed on the pitch.

“Another positive is that, when a new person comes in, it auto-matically increases your moti-vation.

“With regards to the players, I think that the goalkeeper Nukri (Revishvili), Irakli, the midfield player and maybe the striker (Owonikoko), even though the latter has not perhaps taken his chances, can help us.

“Personally, I don’t agree when a team makes many changes during January. A few adjustments will do but I hope that we continue to head in the right direction.”