Hibernians coach Mark Miller said that hard work on the training pitch was behind his team’s title-winning campaign after the Paolites sealed their 12th league title with a 3-1 win over St Andrews on Sunday.
At the start of the season few people had given Hibernians any chance to be ranked among the protagonists in the league but Miller said his players never gave up hope throughout the season as the Paolites made it two championships in three years.
“This is a marvellous achievement for the club,” Miller told Times of Malta yesterday.
“Most of the credit should go to the players who stuck to my philosophy of hard work and total commitment in training and during competition. We also never let the difficult times overcome us. Instead we doubled up our efforts and finally got rewarded with the championship medal.”
For Miller, this is his fourth league title and second with the Paola club.
“Every occasion is special,” Miller, who won the championship as player-coach with Floriana and Sliema Wanderers, said when asked how he compares this success with his previous ones.
“But, obviously, the last one is always the one you cherish most because everything you went through during the season remain fresh in your mind.
“This success takes special significance when one considers the quality of players we had at the start of the season. Along with my assistant Josef Mansueto we managed to create a great bond inside the dressing room and that was another positive aspect in our campaign.
“The arrival of Mario Muscat as goalkeeping coach during the season also helped. Really, this was one great collective effort.”
Miller is already thinking on his team’s preparation for the Champions League qualifiers this summer.
“We have to reach those European qualifiers well prepared to go as far as possible,” he explained.
“We don’t intend to have players starting their pre-season late and then we can’t rely on them in Europe. This time things will have to work differently.
“Our pre-season starts on May 28. We’ll have a few extra players with us as they return from loan spells so that makes our squad a little bit more competitive.
“An extended run in Europe will also bring much-needed funds to our club which is always welcome by the administration.”
Miller says he has no plans to spend big in the next transfer window as he intends to introduce more players from the youth squad and nurture them into the first team.
“Next season we will work on a low budget in terms of transfer dealings,” Miller said.
“This decision could raise a few eyebrows from our supporters but we believe that we can add quality to our squad without spending big.
“This summer, we shall also have a small group of young players from Senegal with us for trial and we’ll be looking at them carefully to spot any hidden talent.
“The club president and administrators want to invest in the youth sector to build a stronger team for the future, a side that will remain competitive for many more years.
“We are confident that this approach will guarantee a better future for Hibernians FC.”