Farrugia thanks squad for exceptional effort

A highly satisfied Ray Farrugia had words of praise for all players of the national team for their exceptional performance yesterday.

Farrugia said that this point came against a very strong Azerbaijan side, which he said has a lot of talent. He said Malta deserved the point for the very good game played. He said that playing abroad and scoring too is not easy.

He also made a special mention for the youngsters employed yesterday, who like the rest had a very good performance. Farrugia said that this is our new philosophy, introducing youngsters with veterans, something which was rarely done in the past 10 years.

He said that he’s at the helm of the team for the last six months only, but the results will start to come. He stressed that this is a long process but he believes in the project embarked upon.

Answering questions from Maltese and local journalists, Farrugia said that being a coach of the Malta national team is anything but an easy job. He said that he accepts the criticism which he receives, and listens to all criticism because he can learn from everybody.

Asked about the fact that Zach Muscat played today for Pistoiese and was even sent off, Farrugia said that we are a small island and that everybody is needed.

Farrugia said that on arrival in Malta he will call both Zach Muscat and Luke Gambin to try to lure them back for Malta’s forthcoming matches against Kosovo and Faroe Islands, where Malta will surely be without defenders Andrei Agius and Steve Borg, who both received another booking yesterday.

Farrugia’s last thoughts went to the few supporters present who braved the long trip to Baku to support the Malta squad. Farrugia thanked them wholeheartedly for believing in the squad.