The National Stadium will be tinted in black and white this afternoon as hundreds of Hibernians fans are expected to throng the terraces to celebrate the Paolites’ Premier League title success in their final league match against Tarxien Rainbows (kick-off: 4pm).
Last week, Hibernians sealed their 12th championship crown following a 3-1 win over St Andrews. No doubt Mark Miller’s team will be looking to wrap up what has been an outstanding season with victory over their neighbouring rivals Tarxien before receiving the Premier League trophy and kickstart their title celebrations.
Ranier Bezzina, the Hibernians general manager, told the Times of Malta that this year’s championship success was somewhat unexpected as the club’s main goal was to qualify for European football.
“To be honest we didn’t expect that we could win the title this year,” Bezzina said.
“At the start of the season we didn’t set the bar too high. Mark Miller had just returned to our club and we didn’t invest heavily in the squad.
“Our priority was to invest in our youngsters and make sure we were competitive enough to qualify for the Europa League qualifiers.
“But when at the start of the year we found ourselves fighting for top spot with Balzan and Valletta you do start to believe more that you could have a major say in this year’s title race.
“Personally, I felt that we could win the title after the 3-2 win against Floriana. Coming from two goals down and taking all three points with a last-gasp goal gave everyone the belief that this could be our year.
“I think that our winning card this year was the fact that we were the most consistent side throughout the season. We always managed to take advantage when our opponents slipped up and that proved crucial.”
Hibernians are known for their stance of giving a lot of importance to the players coming through the club’s nursery.
Looking at the group of players Miller had at his disposal one finds several youngsters who played a key role in this year’s title run in.
Bezzina said that this year’s title triumph certainly vindicated the club’s philosophy of giving its young players a chance to shine.
“Nurturing our nursery players into established first-team players has been our club’s mantra for several years,” the Hibs general manager said.
“When Miller and his assistant Josef Mansueto took charge they made it their priority to give a lot of importance to our young players.
“Their hard work and commitment on the training pitch was certainly vindicated as we had several upcoming players who gave a decisive contribution to our title success.
“No doubt this title is the perfect reward to our club’s philosophy.”
Bezzina said that once the title celebrations come to a close next week, the club will immediately start working for next season.
“Once the title celebrations are over we will immediately start planning for next season,” Bezzina said.
“Our first priority will be to make sure that we are ready for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers where we hope to enjoy a strong run. We will discuss which areas in our squad need to be strengthened and try to bring in the players before the squad starts its pre-season later this month.”
Bezzina confirmed that the bulk of overseas players at the club will be confirmed although he admitted that there was still a question mark on the future of Gilmar whose loan spell from Naxxar Lions ends at the end of the season.
“We are not planning big changes,” Bezzina said.
“The majority of our foreigners have contracts with us and will stay on. Gilmar’s loan spell ends at the end of the season and we still have to see whether we can retain his services for next season.
“We are planning to hold talks with his club, Naxxar Lions, and see whether we can reach an agreement with them so that Gilmar can remain with our club.
“But should we fail in our attempts we will do everything we can to replace him adequately.”