The disappointment of missing out on the league title on the final day of last season is spurring Birkirkara on this term, coach Paul Zammit told the media yesterday.

Last May, Birkirkara were distraught after their dream of retaining the league crown was ended by a 2-0 defeat to rivals Valletta.

In the close season, the Stripes parted with several players.

Rowen Muscat and Joseph Zerafa are now playing abroad while foreigners Demba Toure, Jhonnattann and Ronaille, who joined Birkirkara in January in exchange for Toure, were not retained. Daniel Zerafa and Terence Vella were loaned to St George’s and Naxxar Lions respectively while goalkeeper Reuben Gauci sought pastures new.

As part of his rebuilding process, Zammit has signed Brazilians Elinton Morais ‘Liliu’, Eliandro Gonzaga and Rafael Ledesma along with Ukrainian forward Vyacheslav Shevchenko.

The only Maltese signing was Edmond Agius who joined from Valletta.

Speaking at the presentation of the 2014-15 squad, held at the EuroSport outlet in Birkirkara, Zammit admitted that it was tough for him and his players to recover from their title setback.

“Losing the league title to Valletta on the final day of the season was hard to take,” Zammit said.

“At the start of pre-season I thoroughly analysed what might have gone wrong and tried to learn from that disappointment.

“A lot of work was done to rebuild the squad. We managed to bring in new foreigners and also signed Edmond Agius as a replacement for Rowen Muscat.

“We made an excellent start to the season with victory against Valletta in the Super Cup.

“It was a fantastic result for us as it came against the team that denied us the league title last season.”

After seven matches in the 2014/15 BOV Premier League, the Stripes are second in the standings, six points adrift of early pacesetters Hibernians who have won their seven matches so far this season.

The Stripes have blown hot and cold this season as mirrored by their last two showings which saw them beat Mosta 2-0 only to suffer an unexpected 3-1 defeat to Tarxien Rainbows last week.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to maintain a high level of performance in our opening seven games of the season,” Zammit said.

“We need to be more consistent if we are to challenge for the major honours.

“Having so many new players in the squad, it is normal that we need time to hit top form but I’m confident that the team will soon start to show its potential.”

Asked if he thought that the current Birkirkara side is weaker than that of last season, the Birkirkara coach made a critical assessment not only of his team but Maltese football in general.

“I think that, if we are honest with ourselves, everyone knows that the level of Maltese football is not the same as it was in the past,” Zammit remarked.

“You watch Premier League matches like I do and one realises that the level of the game has gone down. The reason for this, in my opinion, is that we have taken decisions that, far from boosting local football, have actually made it worse.

“I can’t understand how a small island like Malta can have a top division with 12 teams and a first division with 14.

“Do you honestly believe that our Premier League clubs have enough Maltese players who have the necessary qualities to play in the top flight?

“Definitely not and that is why we have ended up increasing the number of overseas players to five (in first eleven).

“Even when it comes to the youth system, do you really believe that a small country like ours can sustain 60 nurseries? I think it’s too much.

“I believe it’s time we face reality and admit that we are taking the wrong approach.

“Maltese football can only flourish if we reduce the number of teams in the top flight to eight and those in Division One to 10 and ensure they are run on a professional basis.

“People might argue that, with fewer teams, young players will find it harder to emerge but that’s nonsense.

“Players like Michael Mifsud, Gilbert Agius, Joe Brincat and Rowen Muscat are clear examples that if you’re good enough, you can play, regardless of your age.”

Zammit said the required changes will never happen if the clubs retain the power to decide the format of the Premier League and Division One.

“Things can only change if these decisions are taken by the MFA administrators rather than the clubs who are only concerned with safeguarding their interests,” Zammit said.

“Unfortunately, at the moment we are taking care of the rest but not the best.”

The BOV Premier League will resume on October 18 due to the national team’s upcoming Euro 2016 matches against Norway tomorrow and Italy on Monday.

On Tuesday, Malta coach Pietro Ghedin announced the final squad for the Norway game and one of the players to miss out was Birkirkara wing-back Edward Herrera.

Fielding a question about Herrera’s omission, Zammit said: “I was not surprised by Ghedin’s decision.

“Edward started the season very well, putting in an excellent performance in the Super cup against Valletta but his form has dipped since then and I think Ghedin felt that he had to look at other players.

“But Edward is working hard to regain his best form and I’m sure it will not be long before he regains his place in the squad.”

Haruna discussions

Also present for yesterday’s news conference was Joe Zammit, president of Birkirkara, who confirmed reports that the Stripes could re-sign Nigerian forward Shola Shodiya Haruna in the coming days.

“We continously assess the strength of our squad throughout the season,” Zammit said.

“There has been a lot of talk about Haruna but the truth is that the only reason we didn’t offer him a new contract at the start of the season was because his wage demands were excessive.

“This week we have resumed negotiations with his agent and I can’t rule out the possibility that he will become a Birkirkara player again in the near future.”