by Rumours of the change in coaching staff at Mgarr United have been confirmed by the Greens. Michael Mangion will be succeeded by Patrick Curmi as the acting head coach of the women’s team, effective immediately until the end of the season. It is understood that Michael Mangion formally resigned from his post as the head coach of the senior women’s team last Thursday, with assistant Neville Cassar following suit.
Michael Mangion leaves the club following three years in charge, having steered the team to top-three finishes in the past seasons. He leaves having achieved a top four finish in the opening two phases of the league this season. Neville Cassar acted as Michael Mangion’s assistant during his tenure with the senior team, while also leading the club’s academy on the women’s side. Despite vacating the post with the senior team, Cassar will still continue in his work with the academy.
Rumours of Mangion’s departure followed days after the side fell to their biggest loss against a top four rival in the first match of 2024, a 5-1 defeat against Swieqi United. It was a match where they trailed by 5-0 at half-time. However, The Sporting Fan understands that cracks began to form earlier between the coaching staff and members within the squad, with the manner of the performance against the Owls being the final straw in them deciding to go their separate ways.
Rumours of Mangion’s departure were fuelled by the appearance of Ryan Vella and Patrick Curmi leading the team in their 4-0 defeat at the hands of leaders Birkirkara on Friday. The club confirmed that Curmi will be leading the team with new technical staff for the foreseeable future earlier today.
Having had little time to prepare with the team, Curmi had a tough opener against the current leaders and defending champions. Despite this, he will likely have focused on using the match to assess his new team in action and analyse his opponent, who the team will be meeting three more times in the league, starting this week.
The Greens had a busy transfer window in the summer, with a clear objective of competing for the title. Although their current position within the top four means that the team has met their target of being in contention in the final phase, the side will need to start stringing a good run of form if they are to push their rivals. This considering that the Greens have earned only two points from a possible eighteen against the direct top-four contenders by the end of round two.
However, the direct nature of the final phase means that their position in the table is by no means a foregone conclusion, with a total of 27 points up for grabs from their direct rivals. Curmi will take to the pitch with the team as an official interim head coach for the first time this Thursday. It will give the coach and his new team an immediate opportunity to put any lessons learnt from last week’s match into practice, as Mgarr United meet Birkirkara again this Thursday at the Centenary Stadium, with kick-off set at 20:15.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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[…] take to the pitch as the officially appointed interim coach for the first time tonight, following Tuesday’s announcement from the Greens. He was reluctant to reveal whether the team will be adopting a more defensive stance, but seems to […]