Żabbar St Patrick have sacked coach Aniello Parisi on Monday, the Times of Malta can confirm.
The Italian coach has been under pressure at the Żabbar club during the past few weeks as the top-flight club are still in search of their first points in the Closing Round.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Marsaxlokk was the Saints’ fifth successive defeat, and the Żabbar St Patrick top hierarchy felt that the time was right to make a change in the technical set-up in a bid to boost the team’s hopes of avoiding relegation.
A meeting was held on Monday morning during which Parisi was informed that he was set to be relieved of his duties.
Gilbert Agius will be announced as the new coach of Żabbar St Patrick on Monday, before the former Valletta forward takes charge of the team’s training session later in the day.
Żabbar St Patrick have struggled for results this season, despite the heavy investment made by the club in both the summer and winter transfer windows.
Żabbar’s ambitions at the start of the season were far higher than just preserving their top-flight status, and their main goal was to try and battle for a place in the Top Six in both the Opening Round and the Closing Round.
However, the Saints failed to make the cut in the Opening Round and managed to avoid the last two places in the standings with a run of positive results in the Bottom 6.
Now, the situation looks quite dangerous as they have yet to secure their first point and are sharing the bottom spot with Mosta after five matches.
Parisi was installed as coach of Żabbar SP at the start of last season and, in his first season in charge, helped St Patrick to retain their top-flight status for a second successive season.
Agius’ appointment as the new Żabbar SP coach marks a return for the Valletta FC to football management in Malta.
Gilbert Agius started his coaching career at his hometown club, Valletta, where he occupied the position of assistant coach.
In April 2019, Agius was promoted as Valletta FC coach following the departure of Danilo Doncic and he managed to help the team win the Premier League title.
After leaving Valletta, Agius was installed as the Malta U-21 coach, where he was in charge of 13 international matches.
His work was appreciated to the MFA to the extent that he was promoted to caretaker coach following the departure of Devis Mangia.
Agius was in charge of the Malta national team for two international friendlies, where he steered the team to a 1-0 defeat to Ireland and a 2-2 draw against Greece.
On February 2023, Gilbert Agius moved to Indonesia where he was appointed as coach of PSIS, where he remained in charge for two-and-a-half seasons.
Żabbar’s ambitions at the start of the season were far higher than just preserving their top-flight status, and their main goal was to try and battle for a place in the Top Six in both the Opening Round and the Closing Round.
However, the Saints failed to make the cut in the Opening Round and managed to avoid the last two places in the standings with a run of positive results in the Bottom 6.
Now, the situation looks quite dangerous as they have yet to secure their first point and are sharing the bottom spot with Mosta after five matches.
Parisi was installed as coach of Żabbar SP at the start of last season and, in his first season in charge, helped St Patrick to retain their top-flight status for a second successive season.
