Atanas Marinov is making a return to Maltese football after agreeing to take over at Division One club Hamrun Spartans on a two-year contract.

The Bulgarian coach replaces Michael Degiorgio who stepped down from his job after the Spartans were relegated to the First Division last season.

This will be Marinov's second stint at Hamrun after a two-year spell between 2001 and 2003. In his first season in charge, Marinov steered the Spartans to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League and the following year, he helped the team stave off relegation.

Marinov's primary objective is to help the Spartans regain promotion to the Premier League.

Marinov started last season at the helm of Marsaxlokk but quit his post in October. Earlier this year, Marinov, who has also coached St Patrick, Birkirkara and Valletta in Malta, opted to resume his coaching career in Bulgaria where he took charge of Botev Plovdiv. The latter spent most of the season struggling in the lower part of the Premier League table but under Marinov, they managed to avoid the drop.

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