In five months' time, the Maltese contingent will be undergoing its final preparations for the Games of the Small States of Europe in Andorra.

A few days ago a meeting was called for those with the potential to make the finals selection. Pippo Psaila, back at the Malta Olympic Committee after an 18-month sabbatical, did not mince his words. In his address to those present, he once again stressed that the key to another successful GSSE is hard work, commitment and discipline.

In his usual concise but strict delivery, athletes were warned that any nonsense would automatically lead to exclusion from the contingent.

I have a strange feeling that a sense of panic had spread through the MOC following a rather inactive period triggered by the resignation of Psaila in June last year coupled with the uncertainty over the budget allocation from government for the period 2004-2005.

For a number of weeks after the 2003 GSSE euphoria, the MOC was in a limbo. Most of the foreign coaches engaged by the various federations in the run-up to the Games had their contract terminated and as a result, training programmes stalled and most athletes missed out on valuable time in their preparation for Andorra 2005.

Director of Sports Psaila made it clear that he was not happy with the situation he inherited following his absence from the MOC.

His resignation had come as a big shock to the local sporting community. Although many administrators may detest the way he handles deadlines and sets minimum qualifying standards, few doubt his strategic skills.

Some may question why he left and came back in exactly the same post he had relinquished. After a period of speculation, Psaila cited the exact reason why he had decided to walk away from the MOC.

He was not at all happy with the wording of the new Sports Law and the power struggle between the MOC and the Kunsill Malti ghall-Isport (KMS) that had ensued. Relations between the two entities have improved since then and I guess both organisations have learnt to appreciate their distinct roles which have to converge rather than diverge.

Psaila's resignation had taken the gloss off a golden chapter that the country had experienced during the days of GSSE 2003. Never before had the sporting public turned up in such large numbers to support our athletes in all disciplines. Unfortunately, the hype quickly died down.

If history does indeed repeat itself, then the MOC is facing a tricky situation which can see our aspirations being brought down to earth with a bang in a few months time in Andorra. In June 2003, Malta achieved its best ever result at the GSSE and the target of a fourth placing in the overall table of medals won was achieved.

Barely two years later, it is extremely hard to see a repeat of that impressive feat.

For starters, the Andorra organisers have excluded sailing and squash from the programme and replaced them with taekwondo and cycling.

Being a landlocked country, the exclusion of sailing was a certainty but when the international executive also struck squash off the list, I could sense that Malta had been dealt a severe blow as the majority of gold medals won in June 2003 were in these two particular sports.

The Tanya Blake saga further complicates matters.

The middle-distance specialist, who won two golds and a silver in the 800m, 1,500m and 400m respectively at the GSSE 2003, faced a barrage of criticism after her dismal performance in the Athens Olympics.

Even though this was the second time that Blake had faltered in an important event following her controversial fall in the 800m in the Mediterranean Games in Tunis, the fact remains that Blake is sorely needed in our GSSE 2005 contingent if we really need to get off the mark in the medals tally.

With the pressure weighing down on William Chetcuti to perform at his best yet again, the prospects of other gold medals look extremely remote.

The women's basketball team is no longer considered as an underdog and all teams will be out to lower the champions' colours.

Local sport has always lacked a continuity and critics have often described good results as a flash in the pan. What Malta desperately needs is a medium-term strategy covering at least a five-year period.

The MOC has set the ball rolling by insisting on a two-year plan which basically covered the time lapse between one edition of the GSSE and the next. This may have been good enough until last year but it needs to be improved upon if we really want to cut a good figure in the Commonwealth and Med Games, and, perhaps one day in the Olympic Games.

Specialist's report

Three years ago Kevin Thompson, an Australian sport specialist had drafted a report which specifically underlined the desperate need for a medium to long term strategy for our sport.

The report, which was hailed as a blueprint for Maltese sport, is probably picking up dust on the top of a shelf somewhere in an office at Tal-Qroqq.

In the circumstances, the MOC is in a quandary. The training programme and subsequent MQSs for Andorra should have been set in 2003. To my mind, we are now a bit too late in the day but as the saying goes, it's useless crying over spilt milk.

Now is the time to establish the parameters for the Mediterranean Games 2009 and the Commonwealth Games 2010 and the Olympic Games 2012.

We seem to have missed the boat for Almeria 2005 and Melbourne 2006 even though some federations who have set their sights on sending representatives to these games have done their utmost to ensure that their athletes are not caught on the wrong foot when the selection process is finalised and communicated to the national associations.