Watch: Promotion a ‘wonderful achievement’, says Valletta coach Micallef

Just 303 days after relegation, Valletta are back in the Premier League after a 3-0 victory over Tarxien Rainbows to seal automatic promotion with four games to spare.

Love them or loathe them, one must admit that the Premier League is not the same, without Valletta.

The Lilywhites’ return to the Premier League at the first time of asking marked a successful first full season for Valletta coach Thane Micallef.

Micallef hailed his side’s ‘wonderful achievement’.

“This group of players have had the real desire to get back into the Premier Division that everyone here thinks we should be in,” he explained.

“We did all this playing quality football. It’s an incredible feeling, especially to do it here, in front of these supporters,” he added.

Valletta have had an eventful summer after their drop from the Premier League embarking on a major squad overhaul as well as changes in the administration, but new president Claudio Grech underlined his commitment to take the club forward.

After decades of success, the outlook for the glorious Valletta was very bleak when the extent of their financial woes became public knowledge during the past season.

It was in these circumstances that Grech accepted to take over the presidency of the club and set up a new administration.

Grech explained that this Challenge League – the country’s second division, where before this season, Valletta had never previously played in their 120-year history was absolutely no disgrace for the club.

Before their match against Tarxien at the Centenary Stadium, the fans had laid out their banners, proclaiming the pride and history of Valletta: “WE ARE VALLETTA”. Tradition and honour, these are two notions for which the club believes itself to stand and on which Grech wants to build the future of the club.

“It was a great experience for us. We embraced change and took the opportunity to rebuild the squad from scratch. At the same time, we rediscovered our values of determination, great respect for the colours we wear as well as instilling the winning mentality into the side, as at the end of the day, we are still a great club, irrespective of our current position,” he explained.

Grech’s cautious approach precluded the signing of high-profile players but he insisted on the club’s emphasis on home talent.

“Look at today, our young players are being given a chance to earn their spurs with the main team,” he said.

This year’s side was still a blend of youth and experience. The Valletta captain Brandon Paiber embraced the project and decided to go down with Valletta. “I did not join the club at the best of times. Still, Valletta are the best club in Malta. Going down in the Challenge League, reduced my chances of a national team call-up. But it was all worth it when you play in front of this crowd,” he added.

Few clubs began life, having been relegated from the Premier League with an air of optimism, but Valletta did, no small part thanks to Grech’s presence.

The supporters believed in the project, and the knock-out effect was a record of attendances for second-tier football.