Last season’s Premier League champions‘ Hamrun Spartans appear to be going through a rough patch after an indifferent start in the 360Sports Malta Premier. This has led to several rumblings amongst supporters and club faithful with many calling for a change at the top.
Hamrun are currently languishing in 5th place in the table on just 11 points, a mammoth 14 points behind leaders Birkirkara who are first on 25 points. The paltry return of just three wins, a draw and five defeats is something which is getting the Hamrun faithful restless.
Is Joseph Portelli throwing in the towel?
Although there are consistent rumours that the club president Joseph Portelli will leave his post, these have not been substantiated. Efforts by this portal to contact Portelli for comment proved futile. It is no secret that the outspoken Gozitan mega developer has invested heavily in the club and this has borne fruit with three league championships over the past four seasons.
Foreign players not performing, rumblings on the coach
Sources who spoke to this portal on condition of anonymity said that there is some animosity within the ranks due to the performance of foreign acquisitions that have not been up to scratch. A cursory look at the club’s social media pages also indicates that the supporters are still bitter about the abrupt removal of Branko Nisevic as coach at the end of the 2022/23 season. When Luciano Zauri refused to renew his contract at the end of last season, his replacement, Alessandro Zinnari has so far proven to be disappointing.
Hamrun’s last two games have both resulted in defeats, 3-2 against Birkirkara and a 1-0 defeat against Sliema Wanderers on Friday. It remains to be seen whether there shall be a turnaround in the final two games of the First Round of this marathon championship. As it is, Hamrun are flirting with dropping into the bottom six before the end of the First Round with Gzira United on 11 minutes in sixth place as well as Melita and Mosta on 9 points.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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