Drazen Besek is very disappointed that his tenure as Birkirkara coach has ended on a sour note but insisted that he would have turned the team’s fortunes around had the club stood by him.
The Croatian, who had replaced Giovanni Tedesco less than 12 months ago, was fired on Tuesday after a 2-0 league defeat to Ħamrun Spartans capped a dismal week that saw Birkirkara crash out of the FA Trophy after a 3-0 defeat to the unfancied St Andrews in their first appearance in this season’s KO competition.
While admitting that Birkirkara’s recent results left a lot to be desired, Besek believes that he deserved to be given more time to inspire a revival on the back of the team’s progress in the preceding six months.
“Of course, we can’t be happy with the result in the cup (3-0 defeat against St Andrews) and the last game (the 2-0 loss to Ħamrun) but my work with the team before these games had been positive and we only had two bad results,” Besek, 53, told Times of Malta.
“I don’t think this was enough to change the coach. It was my responsibility to guide the team as coach but now the club has taken responsibility for the future.
“Last year, the same people (who made this decision) were not happy with the results of the team and this is how I became coach of Birkirkara. Now the same thing happened.
“What I want to say is that I enjoyed working with the players at Birkirkara.”
Besek’s dismissal had been on the cards as, besides the shock exit from the FA Trophy, the 2-0 upset to the Spartans last weekend left them eight points off the top after winning only five points from their last five league games.
Their recent slump tarnished the erstwhile upbeat mood in the Birkirkara camp after the team has scaled new heights under Besek in the summer following their headline-grabbing run to the third qualifying round of the Europa League, the first Maltese club to advance so far in a UEFA competition.
“When I came, nobody believed that we would qualify for the Europa League at the end of the season but we finished third in the league,” Besek said.
“In Europe, we achieved great success and this was a big satisfaction for everyone at the club, the players, fans, officials and the coaching staff.
“I’m sure that, if we had stayed together, we would have had a big chance of winning the league.”
The onus of salvaging Birkir-kara’s season has now fallen on Nikola Jaros who was Besek’s right-hand man.
While Jaros’s appointment as the new Birkirkara coach initially looked somewhat odd, Besek has no qualms about his former assistant’s decision to accept the job.
“I’m very happy that he (Jaros) had the courage to make this step and work on his own,” Besek said.
“It’s good for him. We had worked together for the past eight years.
“My assistant felt that this is the right time for him to work alone and I wish him all the best. I’m prepared to help him in whatever way I can.”
Besek now intends to take a short break and enjoy the festive season before deciding what to do next.
“We are in the Christmas period and my intention is to wait until the New Year before returning to coaching,” Besek said.
“I want to take a rest for the next 20 days and after that I will start again.
“I want to work abroad.
“I enjoyed my time in Maltese football, no doubt about that, but I will only work here if I receive an offer from a big club with the right conditions to run a team in a professional way.”
Besek believes that Maltese football has the potential to grow but clubs needed to invest more.
“Maltese football has a bright future but only if the people change their mentality,” he said.
“Without the right investment, you can’t do anything. There are some good Maltese players and the national team can be a lot better but they can’t always expect the coach to do everything.”