Retaining their top-flight status for a third successive year is the priority for Naxxar Lions this season as yesterday they paraded their new signings and technical staff during a news conference at the club in the village square.

Last season, Naxxar only managed to escape the dreaded drop on the very last day of the league trek.

They went into a period of transition in the off-season as former club president Dione Drago stepped down from his post with David Vella taking over as the new Naxxar Lions FC chief.

The new committee will be operating on a tighter budget than previous years in 2015-16 and that forced the Lions to part ways with all their overseas players while Stefano Grima was promoted to first-team coach.

Naxxar have kept faith with the majority of Maltese players who donned the club colours last season with the exception of Terrence Vella, who returned to Birkirkara, as defender Ishmael Grech joined from neighbours Mosta FC.

The Lions adhered to their low-spending policy when recruiting their new overseas players.

The newcomers are Emiliano Lattes, Luca Lodetti, Mandinho, Richard Cardoso, Ayra Heghighe, Moises Gnenegbe and Ossou Sidoine.

“We are bracing ourselves for an uphill battle,” Vella told reporters on the eve of Naxxar’s first league match against FA Trophy holders Birkirkara this evening.

“This season our budget is considerably less than previous years. We cannot bank on players of a certain calibre due to a restricted wage structure.

“Gilmar and Jorge contributed immensely to our position last season but we could not afford to retain them. Pablo Doffo has also left.

“However, we’re still pleased with the players we signed. The coach can motivate them to show their full commitment and together contribute to achieve our goal and stave off the relegation threat.”

Naxxar Lions newcomers (from left) Moises Gnenegbe, Ossou Sidoine and Luca Lodetti. Photos: Chris Sant Fournier

Young players

Naxxar are ready to introduce their young players and allow them more space to show their true worth.

So, it was almost natural for the committee to appoint Grima, a former nursery head coach.

“Our decision to give Stefano Grima the job was straightforward. He was the perfect candidate to lead our squad which includes players coming through our youth ranks,” Vella said.

“He was employed in our youth sector for several years and has a good knowledge of the ones coming through the academy. We know Stefano has the ability to lead Naxxar Lions to a safe position at the end of the season.”

This will be Grima’s first experience as head coach of a team in the Premier League.

“We’ve been through a lot of changes this summer,” Vella said.

“I thank the committee for showing faith in my abilities and hope that together we can reach our objectives.

“I am satisfied with the training we had during pre-season. The squad is a mix of young and experienced players. The ones from overseas have also gelled well as a group and I feel that the squad is now ready for the challenge.”

Grima said he is aware that all the other teams in the league have strengthened their ranks significantly this summer.

However, he is relying on his players to try and win as many points as possible to make sure Naxxar will not be embroiled in the relegation dogfight.

“We’ve seen all teams in the Premier League doing their homework well in the off-season to assemble strong squads and be sure they’re as competitive as possible,” he said.

“Our team did well in pre-season but the real competition starts this weekend. Every match will be like a final and every point won is important as the race to avoid the bottom half of the table is again expected to be very close.”