Confirmation from the Malta FA that Msida St Joseph and Ħamrun Spartans are to replace Vittoriosa Stars and Marsaxlokk in this season's Premier League, was music to the ears of the fans of the two rivals.

Msida and Ħamrun may have spent most of the summer preparing for life in the second tier of the Maltese game but they leapt at the chance of competing in the country's elite division despite the monumental task awaiting them.

Whereas most of the other eight teams brought in new players to reinforce their squads, Msida and Ħamrun had no option but to part with a host of established players, including their three foreigners, after their relegation from the Premier League last season.

The extraordinary circumstances that led to Msida and Ħamrun taking the place of Vittoriosa Stars and Marsaxlokk after these were demoted for match-fixing, mean that the promoted duo face an uphill struggle to hold their own in the top flight but their coaches are looking forward to the challenge.

Mark Marlow, the new Msida St Joseph coach, admitted that his club harboured hopes of regaining their top-flight status sooner rather than later in light of the disciplinary proceedings against Vittoriosa Stars and Marsaxlokk.

"The Msida committee always felt that the team still had a chance of playing in the Premier League this season," Marlow told The Times.

"The off-field events gave us a glimmer of hope.

"We started pre-season training on July 12 and played around 10 friendlies but as far as our transfer campaign was concerned, we were restricted because officially, Msida were a Division One club."

In the close season, Msida witnessed an exodus of players as the likes of Dino Cachia, Stacey Vella, Kenneth Spiteri, Matthew Camilleri and their three Brazilians, Pedro dos Santos Calcado, Andre Rocha da Silva and Marcos Aurellio, left the club in search of pastures new.

With limited funds available, Marlow opted to keep Lyden Micallef and Adam Spiteri after they returned from loan spells elsewhere, and made a few other low-key signings to increase his pool of players.

For much of the past three weeks, Msida have been striving to add new foreign players to their squad as FIFA rules permit clubs to sign out-of-contract players outside the transfer windows.

Serbian defender Zoran Levnaic, who played for Ħamrun Spartans last season, and new Argentine midfielder Emiliano Lattes, are in line to join Msida who are currently barred from registering new players because of a transfer prohibition.

A Nigerian player is also expected to join Msida for a trial later this week with Aurellio also in the frame to rejoin his former club.

Leading a Premier League club represents a new challenge for Marlow who was a member of the Malta FA youth coaching team for the last three years.

"This (Msida job) is the biggest challenge of my career so far," Marlow, who also had a short spell as player-coach of Gozitan club Kerċem Ajax, said.

"After three years working with the Malta FA, I felt the time was right to go into club coaching.

"From a personal perspective, I'd have preferred to coach in Division One to gain experience but now I'm thrilled by the prospect of leading Msida in the Premier League.

"It's going to be a long season but our objective is to avoid relegation."

Marlow expects the usual suspects, i.e. Hibs, Valletta, Sliema and Birkirkara, to fight for the elite positions, but in his eyes, the remaining teams are close to each other.

"The top four are a cut above the rest but looking at the other six sides, I don't see a big gap between them," Marlow said.

"I believe that Msida can do well against these teams."

Stephen D'Amato, the coach of Ħamrun Spartans, shares Marlow's view.

"I think there are six teams of the same level," D'Amato said.

"Last season, the race for Championship Pool places was followed by another tight battle to avoid the drop and I believe we'll have more of the same this year."

As the debate on the fallout from the demotion of Vittoriosa and Marsaxlokk rages on, some have suggested that Ħamrun and Msida are ill-equipped to cope with the demands of Premier League football.

Only time will tell whether these claims are valid or not but for now, the Spartans are just delighted to be back among the big boys.

"We gladly accepted the opportunity to play in the Premier League," D'Amato remarked.

"It's true that we were preparing for a season in Division One but I still believe that our squad is strong enough to compete in the Premier League."

Transfer business

In the close season, the Spartans loaned key midfielder Ryan Fenech to Sliema Wanderers and winger-cum-forward Steve Meilak to Qormi. Dutch striker Sylvano Comvalius sealed a move to Birkirkara while Levnaic and Romanian left-back Florin Anton were not retained.

With teams in Division One only allowed to have one foreign player in their ranks, D'Amato deemed that his team needed a strong striker and duly signed Brazilian Marcelo Pereira, formerly of Marsaxlokk.

Now that Ħamrun are back in the Premier League, D'Amato wants to add to his options with the acquisition of two other foreign players and one of them could be Czech Martin Hrubsa, the former Vittoriosa defender.

On the plus side, the Spartans had already recruited a host of experienced players before the August transfer window closed, namely Jonathan Holland, formerly of Birkirkara, Timothy Fleri Soler, who was on the books of Hibs, ex-Floriana defender Clyde Camoin and Mark Barbara, who spent last season on loan with Marsaxlokk from Valletta.

D'Amato is not concerned about his players' level of fitness.

"Our players reported for pre-season training on July 13 and they've worked hard in the past two months," D'Amato.

"I am confident that it will not take us long to adjust to the demands of Premier League football because we have played a series of friendlies and the team's condition looks good."

Like Msida, Ħamrun's target is to avoid the drop.

"Our chief aim this season is to keep our Premier League status," D'Amato said.

"Up to a few weeks ago, our pre-set goal was to win promotion but now that we've been given this opportunity to play in the Premier, we intend to make the most of it."

Ħamrun open their campaign with a match against Birkirkara on Saturday. Msida take on Qormi in Saturday's curtain-raiser.

The highlight of the weekend's five-match programme, the first since the league was temporarily suspended, is the clash between Sliema Wanderers and Valletta on Friday evening.

On Sunday, Floriana play Tarxien Rainbows and Hibernians meet Dingli Swallows.