The 11 competitive games have produced 8 wins under the guidance of former Vidi star striker Ferenc Horvath. He took over the team midway through the autumn season with Vidi in 7th place in the table. The impressive run of results since then will see Videoton kick off the second part of the season in February in 3rd place. There will also be a two-legged Hungarian cup match against Ferencvaros. The head coach sat down after the final league match of 2016 to look back on his time in the managerial chair.

– Vidi are in a top 3 spot after 19 league games, which few would have thought possible after the bad start to the season. What were your plans when you took over at the start of October?

– I had one aim when I was named as manager: To start the spring season with a place in the top three a reality! We more than achieved this with our performance, but this does not mean that we can sit back and stop. We need to keep this tempo going and continue working very hard to move forward. I can say that I have got more back from the team than I was expecting.

– Vidi have conceded the second fewest goals in the first division. What is this down to that we now have a stable backline since your arrival?

– The stability of our backline was a very important task. I felt back then that if we could keep a clean sheet in a game, then we had enough creative players to take advantage of the chances that would come our way. That would help us to pick up results. The main emphasis was placed on the team performing and defending well and functioning as a unit. I did not only want the back four to be stable, but that all of the players would do their part in that area. We then learned how to counter attack in a dangerous way, which suits the team, but I will admit that perhaps that did not make us the most attractive in terms of what the supporters wanted to watch. We would like to work in this area over the winter pre-season period. We will work hard to have more possession during the game and bring our attacking players more in to the picture and enjoyable.

 – Looking back to when you sat down in the manager's chair, what did you feel about the potential of the current squad?

– It is not easy to know how to change things within a team, which was the case with us as we had started the season in a different way that had been planned. I looked at the humility within the team as a priority and there were no problems here. I was also a forward, which is why I would pick out Robert Feczesin, who did not have the best of tasks over the autumn season. He played the matches with his back to goal in the formation we played. He understood that his role would be to help out the team, but the same applies to several of the players who have moved forward.

– Your first competitive game was against Andrashida where you were missing the aggressiveness from your side. Did the players understand what you were thinking of?

– Perhaps we improved the least in this area. I would like to see a more aggressive side, but there were moments when I saw that we were capable of this, but it is an area I feel we are missing in. It is enough to switch on the TV and watch a game from a top foreign league. The players constantly sprint, fight, which is all part of the game today, just as a good skill is or a shot on goal. We need to improve in this area if we are to be able to compete on the international stage.

– Which game do you look back to the most?

– I would pick out the final match where we said farewell to the stadium for personal reasons. It was very important for me that we said goodbye to the Sostoi with a win. The whole team felt the same with this. I would mention the game with Ferencvaros from a point of view of a manager.

– Why have you picked out one of our two defeats?

– I mentioned the level needed for being able to compete on the international stage. I felt that our defending at the Groupama Arena met those standards. We needed more in the attacking third, but the result did show that the team were together, although unfortunately it was not enough to earn a point.

– There will be a shorter winter break than normal due to the European Championships. How has this changed the program of the team?

– It was back in the summer when the players got time off to relax for a couple of days. This is why I would like the players to relax and rest in the two weeks. We will start to work again in January, with the usual medical checks to begin with, while there will also be the now normal training camps.

– Are you in favour of friendly games and do you prefer your side to play against strong opponents?

– I am not the biggest fan of friendly games. It is also a type of training where results are not the main thing that I look out for. We tried to find a good balance in terms of the opponents that we will play against. There will be games where we can practice the attacking side of our game, but also matches that will see us place the emphasis on our defence and against strong opponents.

– Kristian Geresi and Viktor Sejben are both local young players, who have repaid your faith by scoring goals. Do you plan to try out more of our young players?

– I am open to young players coming in and building themselves in to the team. There will be such players that we begin pre-season with us, and it will be down to those youngsters as to whether they will end up out there on the pitch.

– How will you spend the festive season and how will you pump yourself up until training begins in January?

– I will be honest and say that I was very tired in the end. I felt like a lemon that had been squeezed out. My family did not really see me during this period. This is why I would like to spend a lot of time with them over the festive period. Perhaps a holiday as we are all big snow boarding fans, so there will be a couple of days up in the mountains. It will be good to unwind a bit before we return for pre-season.