As the final whistle of 2024 TOPsport A Lyga sounded, it also signalled that FA Šiauliai will have a new coach next year – Mindaugas Čepas, who lead the team for the past four years is departing as his current deal had expired and no new agreement was reached.
The Lithuanian specialist took charge of the team back in December 2020 and had seen the club, its results and overall popularity with the fans only grow during his tenure. Čepas’s emphasis on local player development was of particular note. During 2024 season, Šiauliai only had two foreign players in the squad – Latvian veteran striker Dāvis Ikaunieks and Ukrainian right back Yevgen Yefremov. Indeed, while the foreign faces may have changed from year to year, with Čepas in charge, the north Lithuanian club have not had more than two non-local players any one year.
But it was not just nurturing local talent that will keep fans with fond memories of Čepas. He lead them to the promotion from the second tier in 2021 to the A Lyga bronze and the unprecedented LFF Cup silver in 2023 to a debut in Europe in 2024, where Šiauliai faced Estonian giants FCI Levadia in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, drawing away but losing on aggregate.
Mindaugas Čepas led FA Šiauliai for a total of 115 matches, winning 45, drawing 35 and losing 35 to record a 1.48 points per match earned.