Valletta’s 2-1 reverse to Balzan has jeopardised their remote title hopes but their lethargic showing may have far-reaching ramifications for the club.

Annoyed by what he perceived as a lack of commitment from the majority of the players in Sunday’s loss, club president Victor Sciriha said this season is likely to be his last at the helm of the Valletta.

“Our performance against Balzan was very poor,” Sciriha told Times of Malta yesterday.

“Hibernians were held to a draw the day before but we failed to capitalise. I can’t understand what is happening but there is no doubt that our players were not at their best in the last game.

“Balzan only had two shots at goal throughout the 90 minutes and scored twice.”

While Valletta’s loss to Balzan could prove the final straw for Sciriha, other issues have also contributed to his growing disillusionment.

“Some of the refereeing this season has left a lot to be desired,” Sciriha lamented.

“Even on Sunday, the assistant referee got an offside decision wrong and there was another episode when the ball hit a Balzan player before going out of play and he awarded a throw-in to the opposing team.

“When I see these things, I feel that I’m wasting my energy and money.

“Time is precious for me and football is taking a lot of it but it’s not worth it.

“As for our team’s progress, we had established a good rhythm but the commitment was not there on Sunday.

“This is what makes me angry.

“You can lose in football but the manner of our defeat is unacceptable for me.”

With Hibs dropping four points in their last two outings, the general feeling before the Valletta-Balzan game was that a win for the champions would revive the title race but they came a cropper against the emerging Balzan.

Valletta may not win the championship this season but their record of three league titles in the last four years speaks volumes of the strength of this club and Sciriha’s input.

In this context, Sciriha’s scepticism looks somewhat exaggerated but he stressed that his discontent stems from the lack of determination shown by his team.

“This is not about us winning the title or not,” the Valletta boss said.

“It’s a question of commitment and approaching an important game in the right frame of mind.

“Our players receive their wages on time and the least you expect is that they show the right commitment on the pitch but that was not the case on Sunday.

“Had we beaten Balzan, we would have put some pressure on Hibs but we spurned this opportunity.”

Superb strikes from Bojan Kaljevic and Gianmarco Piccioni consigned Valletta to a 2-1 loss that left them 14 points off the title pace.

This season has been anything but plainsailing for Valletta.

They have been playing catch-up to leaders Hibernians since the opening weeks of the season after losing four of their opening eight games but the decision to hand the first-team reins to Ivan Zammit alongside assistant Gilbert Agius looked to have revitalised the champions who won 11 from 12 games before their loss to Balzan.

Sciriha is happy with the work of the coaches. “The decision to bring in Ivan Zammit has worked,” Sciriha said. “The team was playing entertaining football until Sunday.

“This is not about the coaches.”

Reports have emerged in the last few days that the Valletta players have been irked by the club’s decision not to award them a bonus for their FA Trophy triumph last season.

“We had told the players a long time ago not to expect a bonus, whatever happened in the FA Trophy,” Sciriha said when questioned about the issue.

“We had this conversation with the players before (former coach) Andre Paus took charge of the team in January.”

Asked if this matter may have distracted the players in the lead-up to Sunday’s game, Sciriha replied: “I don’t think it had any effect... well I hope it didn’t.

“Our players are paid until December and the January wages are ready. Not only that but next week we intend to hand out the bonus payments for our league title last season.”

Some have pointed out that Sciriha had threatened to quit in the past only to have a change of heart but he is adamant that this will be his last season as president.

No enthusiasm

“My enthusiasm for the game has gone,” Sciriha said.

“I feel sorry for our loyal supporters but it’s very unlikely that I will change my mind this time.

“I will honour my commitments until the end of the season but, in all probability, I will step down after that.”

The prospect of losing the man who masterminded the club’s return to glory in the last decade is causing apprehension among the City faithful, the majority of whom are behind Sciriha

The former Marsaxlokk president reckons that Valletta, and for that matter all the Maltese clubs, have a tough task on their hands to attract people who are willing to pour their own money into football.

“Valletta FC were bankrupt when I took over but at present, we are one of the few clubs that have no debts,” Sciriha said.

“I don’t think there are many sane people out there who are ready to take on this massive financial burden.

“We also have a problem with our sponsors Insignia as they have missed a January deadline to pay the final installment of the sponsorship agreement they have with our club.

“Things are not looking rosy.”