Clive Mizzi has had a change of mind and will remain at the helm of Premier League strugglers Tarxien Rainbows following talks with club president Tony Cassar.
Mizzi handed in his resignation following the Rainbows’ 3-0 defeat to Vittoriosa Stars on Saturday. He looked set to become the fourth coaching casualty in the top flight this season following Riccardo Tumiatti (Balzan), Danilo Doncic (Mosta) and Tommaso Volpi (Qormi) who all failed to last the distance in the current campaign.
The upset to the Stars left Tarxien languishing second from bottom with only 13 points from 18 matches and Mizzi felt that a change was necessary to revive the club’s fortunes.
However, his resignation was turned down by the Tarxien committee and on Monday he had a tete-a-tete with the pre-sident who convinced him to stay and lead the side out of the drop zone.
“At first I thought another coach would have been better for the team. But, then I was convinced to withdraw my resignation and to continue with my work at the club,” Mizzi told Times of Malta yesterday.
“After the defeat to Vittoriosa I was distraught and felt that the time was right for me to leave the team in the hands of someone else with the hope that he could do a better job.
“On Monday, I met Mr Cassar and we spoke about the current situation. He em-phasised that the club still have confidence in me and asked me to continue with my work at Tarxien.
“I also spoke with the players and they urged me to stay. In the end, all that made me change my mind but now we have to work harder to improve our position in the league.”
Mizzi admitted that the team needed a couple of reinforcements during this month’s transfer window and revealed that he received assurances from the club that they will try and strengthen his squad.
The coach is hopeful Tarxien will at least make one signing before their next match against bottom team Rabat Ajax on Saturday.
“It’s no secret that we are trying to bring in new players,” Mizzi said.
“We have some interesting options at present and I think that we can add one player to our squad before the match against Rabat.”
The Rainbows signed Brazilian midfielder William Barbosa last week but they missed out on Senegalese striker Pape Gueye who opted to join Gżira United in Division One instead.
Demba Toure, who has struggled to command a regular place at Birkirkara, is a reported target for Tarxien.
Elsewhere, Naxxar Lions are stepping up their efforts to fill the void left by Pablo Doffo who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon during the 3-0 victory over Rabat Ajax last week.
The Lions are in talks with Serbian attacking midfielder Milan Vignjevic.
Negotiations with the 24-year-old Vignjevic are at an advanced stage and the deal is expected to be completed before the weekend.