Hibernians president Tony Bezzina hailed the squad’s unity as the lethal weapon in the club’s title-winning armoury as the Paolites celebrated their 11th championship with a 3-1 victory over Valletta on Saturday.

“We have been working towards this objective for a number of years,” Bezzina, who has been at the helm of Hibernians for more than three decades, said.

“Our policy is to groom our nursery players and promote them to the first squad. It usually takes about three years for these youngsters to establish themselves in the senior team which contains other elements who have technique and experience.

“The player next to me (Andrew Cohen) is undoubtedly one of the best in Malta... there are not many like him.

“Fortunately, last summer we made four signings who have fitted well in the team. Two of them are from Paola (Andrei Agius and goalkeeper Henry Bonello) but our best weapon has been the unity within our squad.”

Coach Branko Nisevic acknowledged that the arrival of Agius, Bonello, Brazilian striker Jorginho, who scored a hat-trick on Saturday, and Equatorial Guinea defender Rui De Gracia Gomes last summer was crucial to Hibs’ title success as they pepped up the quality of an already strong squad.

“At the beginning of the season, we set ourselves the target of challenging for all trophies,” Nisevic, who has won his first Premier League title as head coach in his second season with Hibernians, said.

“The club helped us to assemble a complete squad with the right mix of players.

“From the first day, the team clicked and even the new players settled in quickly.

“We had some tough matches but I sensed that the team was growing from game to game.

“Winning the title the way we have done is probably a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.

“I mean we’ve had a great number of wins, scoring 97 goals while not conceding many, and having two of our players (Luis Edison ‘Tarabai’ and Jorginho) finishing as joint top scorers with 25 goals is just amazing.”

In his long and glittering career with Hibs, Andrew Cohen has collected several titles and honours but this season’s success has added significance as it was achieved in his first year as club captain.

“We deserve to be crowned champions because we’ve been the most consistent team,” the Malta international, who turns 34 on Wednesday, said.

Golden boy... Andrew Cohen hoists the BOV Premier League trophy. Right: Standing firm... Hibs defender Andrei Agius (left) nips in front of Valletta striker Lateef Elford-Alliyu during his side’s 3-1 victory. Photos: Darrin Zammit LupiGolden boy... Andrew Cohen hoists the BOV Premier League trophy. Right: Standing firm... Hibs defender Andrei Agius (left) nips in front of Valletta striker Lateef Elford-Alliyu during his side’s 3-1 victory. Photos: Darrin Zammit Lupi

“The club deserve credit for building such a strong squad while the coach has clearly done a great job in finding the right way to handle the players.

“I believe we have also made his job a bit easier but all in all it has been a brilliant year.

“Having two players from our team claiming the top scorer award makes this a truly memorable season, probably one of the greatest in the history of Hibernians.

“I take the opportunity to thank the president for his support and co-operation. He has had to wear different hats to ensure that all the players are happy.”

It’s a measure of Hibs’ supremacy that they rubberstamped their title success with three games to spare in spite of the fact that their commanding lead was cut by half before the start of the third and final round.

After a 3-1 win over Floriana had given Hibs an unassailable lead at the top, they slumped to their first defeat of the season, losing 3-1 to Balzan, and then drew 0-0 against Birkirkara, but their exhilarating showing on Saturday will have allayed fears that the champions may have lost their swagger.

This is particularly heartening for the players and supporters as Hibs are now gunning for a league and cup double after reaching the FA Trophy semi-finals, the draw of which will be made this morning.

“After winning the league with three games to spare, losing to Balzan was disappointing for us,” Cohen observed.

“In the next game, we drew 0-0 against Birkirkara but we didn’t play very well.

“Nevertheless, that result helped to restore our morale ahead of the Valletta match.

“Beating Valletta 3-1 and dominating the game has given us a boost ahead of the FA Trophy semi-finals.

“Our principal target now is to complete a league and cup double.”

Back to their best

In the build-up to Saturday’s game, Nisevic admitted that the team had relaxed a bit after securing the title but the way Hibs took the game to Valletta from the off showed that they had rediscovered their determination and motivation.

Asked to reveal what he told the players before Saturday’s encounter, Nisevic replied: “We watched a DVD of our previous games, it was an overview of our season.

“This had an uplifting effect on the players. We tried to play in a different way against Valletta. After Tarabai’s departure, we encountered some problems in finding the best way to compensate for his absence.

“I’m not saying that we didn’t play well after Tarabai left but in this game, I felt that we managed to put the team in the best possible shape. We made some small changes and the result shows that we made the right choices.”

It remains to be seen whether Hibernians will succeed in keeping their championship-winning squad intact but club president Bezzina believes that the young players in the team will ensure that the hunger to win will not recede.

“We have experienced players but also young ones who are thirsty to win more honours,” Bezzina said.

“The most important thing is that our players maintain their willingness to be successul.

“And if we need to make some adjustments to the squad, we will try to do it.”

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