Birkirkara FC address MFA press conference before Sunday's match

by Ayrton Galea - 20th March 2014

Birkirkara FC's Head Coach Mr. Paul Zammit, together with team's Captain Gareth Sciberras addressed a press conference held by the Malta Football Association earlier today in view of Sunday's big match between Birkirkara and Valletta.

Birkirkara's defeat against Hibernians might have come as a surprise to many but the Birkirkara Coach is still looking forward with optimism for next Sunday's clash against nearest rivals, Valletta FC, despite not considering it as a decisive match.

“I keep on saying that every match in the Championship Pool has its weight, and next Sunday's match against the second team in the standing is a very important match. It is a clash between the first two teams in the league but our preparation is like all the rest of the games.

“However, I don't consider it as a decisive match because in the Championship Pool, there can be a lot of changes in the league standings. Like we saw last week, we had a situation where Valletta failed to win and we won our match. Later on in the week, we lost our match and Valletta won their match.”

“We have been under pressure from day one. This was a learning curve for our squad and I wanted them to live this experience. We have been trying to build this group of players from last season. Last season, we reached our objectives and for this season, pressure was on from day one. However, we are ready for the pressure for the rest of the season.

“Whoever wants to wear the Birkirkara FC shirt, must know how to handle pressure and the present group have showed this throughout this season, and whenever we had a setback, there was an immediate reaction.”

When asked if the team feared playing against Valletta, Paul Zammit said “We don't fear our opponents. Our players have all played big matches. We respect our opponents, but fear? Never.”

Birkirkara will be having Ryan Scicluna suspended while Shola Shodiya and Nikola Vukanac are still doubtful for the match. However, on a brighter note, Mr. Zammit gave signs of the possibility that midfielder Rowen Muscat will make his return as he has now reached an intense training.

On the other hand, Team's Captain Gareth Sciberras believes that the defeat against Hibernians gave the opportunity to the team to make an instant reaction this Sunday in the clash against Valletta.

“This is our first match against the second team in the Championship Pool and we are focused on this match. Our target is winning the Championship and we are determined to reach our goals. This was our target from the beginning of the season, after coming from winning the Championship and pressure was there from the beginning.”

“The match against Hibernians certainly didn't affect our morale. I believe that the match against Hibernians can give us the push that the team needs for next Sunday's match against Valletta as it is the opportunity to make an instant reaction”

“We don't fear our opponents. We, as players, only fear that our performance won't be up to the level, but we never think of fear our opponents. It's the biggest mistake that a player can do.

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