Sliema Wanderers president Keith Perry has declared that his club has a bright future ahead as the Blues look to regain their place among the elite of Maltese football at the end of the season.
Last April, the Blues lost their place in the Premier League and during the past months, Perry and his fellow club members have been working incessantly to not only build a competitive squad that would win promotion back into the top-flight but also put the club on a solid foundation that can guarantee success for many years to come.
Paul Zammit was installed as the club’s new first-team coach while Alfred Attard is the new Technical Director and together they assembled a competitive squad based on a blend of youth and experience.
“We are at the start of a new season where our goal is to try and restore the club to the place it deserves,” Perry said.
“When last April it was confirmed that we lost our top-flight status for the first time after 39 years, we started to work hard to try and put the club on stronger foundations not only from a football perspective but also in terms of administration.
“Last year a lot of work has been done to inject more financial sustainability and all committee members worked incessantly to reach this goal and today we are pleased to report that we are in a much better place than in previous years.”
Perry said that their first target was to install a first-team coach and he said that Paul Zammit was always the preferred candidate for him.
“We needed to bring in a coach that was the right man to lead our project and as a Maltese coach my priority was always Paul Zammit,” Perry said.
“It was not easy as there were many clubs who tried to secure his signature but we kept persisting and after holding several meetings we realised that our project and Zammit’s vision were a perfect marriage and we managed to secure his services.
“We have also further strengthened our technical staff with the appointment of Alfred Attard as technical director and Darren Farrugia as Strength and Conditioning coach.”
The Wanderers in the close season brought in 13 new players as they looked to bring in a blend of youth and experience.
“I am pleased with the level of our first-team squad and obviously our main goal is to win promotion to the Premier League,” Perry said.
“The FA Trophy is another competition that is very important for our club and without putting any pressure on our coach I hope that we can reach the latter stages of the competition this season.
“But beyond that, I believe that we have brought in some talented youngsters which can help us guarantee a bright career for many years to come.”
Coach Zammit said that he is fully motivated to implement the club’s new technical project that can guarantee a bright future for the club.
“I am honoured to have been given this job at such a glorious club like Sliema Wanderers,” Zammit said. “When the club approached me, I immediately recognised the huge responsibility I was being given by the club to put the team back where it belongs. This summer we launched a long-term project that we believe can help us plan for the future.
“Our goal is to not only be successful this term but also to ensure the team remains competitive for many years to come. We have built a very strong set-up that puts us closer to professional model.
“I am very pleased with the co-operation I found from both the players and the club’s administration. We have some talented youngsters who have ample room to further develop their potential which means that the future of the club is in safe hands.
“And we are all hugely motivated to reach the club’s main objectives.”
