Ivan Zammit is to take on a more active role at Valletta alongside fellow coach Gilbert Agius as part of a minor reshuffle aimed at reviving the champions’ title defence bid after a stuttering start to the season.
The adjustments within Valletta’s technical set-up were approved by the club committee last night after discussions between Zammit, who was originally appointed technical director last month, and Agius led to an agreement over their revised roles.
Zammit’s elevation to first-team coach has signalled the end of Darren Abdilla’s involvement with Valletta.
Abdilla joined the club in the close season after accepting Agius’s proposal to become his assistant but he has now been told that his services are no longer required. The young coach appeared before the City committee yesterday to discuss compensation following the early termination of his contract.
The changes in Valletta’s coaching structure had been communicated to the players during a meeting on Thursday evening.
The word yesterday morning was that Zammit had stepped up to the post of head coach with Agius as his right-hand man but Victor Sciriha, the Valletta FC president, told Times of Malta last night that the two will be working hand in hand for the rest of the season.
Agius, the club’s long-time captain who called time on his illustrious career two years ago, had been handed the coaching job at Valletta in the summer.
The 40-year-old replaced Andre Paus who left to take charge of Cypriot club Anorthosis after guiding Valletta to a league and cup double during his four-month spell with the club.
Having served his apprenticeship under Mark Miller and Paus, Agius endured a difficult start to his first job as senior coach as Valletta lost four of their first eight league games.
Zammit, like Agius a former Valletta and Malta midfielder who has won several honours with the Citizens, was roped in to help his former team-mate after the champions suffered an unexpected 2-1 defeat to Pietà Hotspurs in the first week of October.
At the time, Valletta announced that Zammit had been appointed technical director, a position previously occupied by Dutch coach Ted van Leeuwen who quit after only a few months to link up with Anorthosis.
Despite speculation that Agius’s position was in jeopardy after Zammit’s arrival, Valletta have repeatedly reiterated their backing for the former Malta captain.
After losing 2-0 to Birkirkara, Valletta have shown signs of improvement since Zammit teamed up with Agius, claiming back-to-back wins over Naxxar Lions and Balzan.
However, the concept of having a technical director who relished a more hands-on role during training and a head coach plus assistant is believed to have created some grey areas, prompting Zammit, Agius and the club’s officials to embark on an exercise aimed at redefining the roles of the technical staff.
Even before this week’s events, the down-to-earth Agius had, on a number of occasions, insisted that he had no complaints about working in tandem with Zammit, even expressing his readiness to take a backward step for the benefit of the team.
Before his move to Valletta last month, Zammit had a long spell in charge of Balzan and led Division One side Gżira last season.