Zoran Mustur, the new Neptunes coach who has succeeded Russian long-serving coach, Sergey Markoch, was in Malta over the past weekend to meet the senior team players.

The visit was intended to familiarise himself with his new squad and set a training schedule leading up to the winter league.

In April, he is expected to take up duties for the remainder of the winter season followed by the summer competitions.

The 61-year-old Croatian, an Olympic silver medallist for Yugoslavia in 1980 who played alongside great players such as Ratko Rudic, Milivoj Bebic, Bosko Lozica and others, spoke to the players in the presence of the club’s top officials last Sunday.

He stressed the importance of hard work and determination as key factors in the team’s bid to maintain their winning streak which could be stretched into the sixth successive year. He said he is expecting maximum response from the team which will include several promising young players.

After the retirement of Tamas Molnar, who was a member of the side that won five league titles since 2010, Neptunes have not yet finalised the enga-gement of the second foreigner to team up with the Hungarian Peter Biros.

Steve Camilleri, currently playing for Circolo Cannottieri 7 Scogli and the leading overall scorer in Italy’s Serie A2 with 23 goals, will be joining the Balluta Bay Reds in summer.

Meanwhile, neighbours San Ġiljan are expected to stren-gthen their squad with the signing of two top-order players, currently plying their trade in Italy’s top division.

Alongside the likes of Matthew Zammit and Dino Zammit, the Saints should offer a sterner challenge to their neighbours in their bid to win the championship for the first time since 1995 when they also won the KO competition.

Sliema, the winter league title holders who finished runners-up in the main summer competition, as usual have the ingredients to strike success.

The much-improved Sirens and Valletta, strengthened by new acquisitions, are also aiming for a satisfactory year which could see them spring some surprises.

On their part, Exiles, who retained their top-division status, should concentrate on building a firmer base with the introduction of more youngsters.