National team players will train exclusively with their club coaches in the upcoming November-January period following an agreement between the Malta FA and Premier League clubs.

The decision to put the much-debated national teams’ training scheme on hold for a two-month period was taken after another round of talks between the Malta FA’s top brass and representatives and coaches of the Premier League clubs.

Saturday’s discussion, held at the Malta FA offices, was a continuation of another meeting MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo had with officials and coaches of top-flight clubs last month.

Under the agreement, the players forming part of the national pool will practise with their club coaches on a daily basis after Malta’s Euro 2012 qualifier away to Croatia on November 17. They will report back for training with the national coaches in the first week of January.

The officials also endorsed a proposal to cut the number of sessions for the national squad from four to three – one on Monday morning and two on Tuesday.

It was also agreed on Saturday that the members of the Malta U-21 and U-23 squads are to train with their national coaches (Edwin Camilleri and Carmel Busuttil) on Mondays and Tuesdays. The U-21s are currently preparing for a friendly match against Cyprus in November while the U-23s will host Romania on October 20.

During Saturday’s meeting, Luca Pagani, the national teams’ fitness trainer, delivered a presentation on physical preparation for footballers. Pagani urged the clubs to call upon the services of 13 trainers who have just completed the Football Physical Training Course.

Darmanin Demajo, the Malta FA head, also spoke about the importance of physical fitness and psychological preparation in football, appealing to the clubs to devote more attention to these two aspects.