The national team's training scheme was put under the microscope yesterday during a meeting between national coach John Buttigieg and the coaches of Premier League clubs Hibs, Valletta, Birkirkara and Sliema Wanderers, who supply the bulk of the players forming part of the Malta squad.
Sources have told The Sunday Times that the pros and cons of the existing scheme were scrutinised by those present during a lengthy, but fruitful, meeting at the Malta FA headquarters in Ta' Qali.
Buttigieg and Mark Miller, Paul Zammit and Stephen Azzopardi, the respective coaches of champions Hibs, Birkirkara and Sliema, have agreed in principle to make some significant adjustments to the present set-up.
Under the current system, the players in the national pool report for training at Ta' Qali in the first three days of the week but the number of sessions will now be trimmed from six to four after a proposal was endorsed that would see the players training for their clubs on Monday and Wednesday evenings.
Valletta, whose coach Ton Caanen has been at the forefront of calls for the scheme to be revamped, are pushing for a different arrangement as they intend to implement their own semi-professional training scheme in the coming weeks.
Caanen has already held some morning training sessions in the last few days.
As the Dutch coach had to leave yesterday's meeting early to catch a flight to Holland, the concerned parties agreed to resume negotiations when Caanen returns tomorrow week.
The coaches present for the meeting have also resolved to improve their own communication and co-operation with a view to improving the level of Maltese football in general.
Yesterday's meeting was also attended by Malta FA president Joe Mifsud and the chairmen of the four clubs involved in the discussions - Tony Bezzina (Hibs), Victor Sciriha (Valletta), Karm Galea (Birkirkara) and Steve Abela (Sliema).
Carmel Busuttil, the assistant national coach, Ivan Vella, the manager of the national teams, Luca Pagani, the national teams' physical trainer, and Nicky Saliba, Valletta's team manager, were also present.
Fitzel quits
The Sunday Times is informed that former national coach Dusan Fitzel has tendered his resignation from the post of technical director.
Fitzel called time on his three-and-a-half-year reign as national coach last July for health reasons but resumed his duties as the MFA technical director late last month.
The Czech, who had a serious operation in his home country in August, has two months remaining on his contract with the MFA but is seeking permission to leave his post at the end of this month.
His resignation is expected to be discussed by the MFA Executive Committee tomorrow.