New Floriana chief Riccardo Gaucci has insisted that his consortium wants to give the football club new, 'eternal' life and he was not here for the money.

Gaucci is a household surname in Italian football as his father is Luciano Gaucci, the former owner of Perugia while Riccardo himself served as president of Catania between 1999 and 2003, but the new Floriana chief is still something of an unknown quantity in local football circles, although he knows the local situation very well.

“My discussions with Floriana began over three months ago,” Gaucci said.

“Self-sustainability is the buzz word in football and that’s what we want for Floriana but we also know that it’s almost impossible to achieve this in modern football.

“In Italy, Udinese know how to do it because they have a sound transfer policy but the big clubs, Milan, Juventus and even Fiorentina, spend a lot of money.

“Our objective is to give an eternal life to a club like Floriana FC, also with the input of the other investors. The project (to develop the Independence Arena) is subject to government approval but if we don’t get going, we will never know if these plans will come to fruition.

“Floriana FC deserve this. It’s a project that will create jobs and transform the stadium area.”

“We didn’t come here to take money from this club, that’s for sure,” Gaucci replied when asked about his motives. "We’re here to do football based on our experience.

“I will be in charge of the footballing side while the other partners will oversee the construction and commercial aspects.

He said players have not been paid for several months and this was having a disruptive effect.

“It’s not a technical or tactical issue, the problems are clearly economic. The situation doesn’t allow the team to enter the field in a positive frame of mind.

“I don’t think the coach is to blame for the team’s struggles. The same goes for the players. The uncertainty around the club was a big factor and most of the fans also blame these circumstances for the team’s plight.”