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2016. May 04. 16:00  -  David Rechnitzer
Lengthy interview with director of football Zoltan Kovacs

Zoltan Kovacs sat down to share his thoughts on the season just finished and the way forward.
 

We start with the news from Monday, with Ferenc Horvath leaving Videoton as head coach. He took over the club in 7th place and left with a runner's up position gained. It seems that his appointment was a good decision.

This is true. I am pleased that Ferenc Horvath, who is a young Hungarian coach, managed to prove that we were justified in choosing him and that he managed to come out of this challenge with success. He carried out his role to a high standard and especially with results. There were many that criticized and were worried during this period. I feel that the second place achieved is a satisfactory reply to those critics. The extremely poor start to the season makes this second place finish that much more worthy.

It seems that from the beginning the thinking of the club management was to go with a foreign coach. When can the supporters learn who the new manager will be and when will it be announced?

We did leave a small gate open for a Hungarian coach, which is understandable, but we decided on our original thinking, which is to continue with a foreign coach. Ferenc Horvath and the club had a very good working relationship, which started in a good atmosphere and this is how we have ended this period. Talking about the new manager, I really hope that we will be able to announce him very soon, which is why I ask for some patience from the supporters.

You joined the club when Vidi were 10th in the table. We were even occupying one of the relegation places for three games. Videoton really had to start from a very low point to get to where they are. Several players left while there were also players that arrived during this period. How would you sum up the last 8-9 months and how have the new players performed?

The first two weeks were horrifying. The team were in a dreadful state in the middle of August. We really had to carry out lots of work in a small period of time. We signed 5 players and released several others. I feel that the new players have shown that they have a place with Vidi. We then started to climb nice and slowly, which saw us go into the winter break in third place in the league table. We were also involved in the Hungarian cup. It was partly on purpose and also due to the restrictions of the winter transfer window that we were not too active in January in the transfer market. However, we still managed to move up a further place in the table, so I think that there cannot be too much criticism placed on us. The last 8 months have been a very stressful period with plenty of movement, but the most important thing is that it has brought results. I would like to thank all of the employees at the club for their fantastic work in the season. We know where we started so a second place finish is even more special. I would also like to pay thanks to the owner, the Managing Director and sponsors of the club for the way they backed us, to make sure things were calm for us to carry out our work. I would also like to say thank you to the supporters for the way they got behind us.

You said back in August that the reality could be a place in the top three, or winning the Hungarian cup in order to qualify for the Europa League. This was achieved. What is the way forward now?

Everything is in place at this club to fight for the most serious aim. This is why I would like us to be champions next season and go as far as possible in the Europa League.

When will the summer pre-season begin?

We will start pre-season on the 30th May with two day medical tests. There will also be a 10 day training camp in Austria during June. It will include several friendly games as we have Europa League game on the 30th June. The players will have their own individual training plan to carry out from the middle of May.

Can we count on new players arriving in the summer?

Around 90% of the squad will remain in place, but there will be players coming in, which we will decide together with the new manager. 

Several young players have made their first team debuts, or were on the fringes of the first team squad. How would you sum them up?

I am pleased that both Viktor Sejben and Krisztian Geresi have been given chances and have taken it with both hands. Sejben showed what he can do mainly in the autumn, while Geresi proved he is a good player over the spring. There were others that I can pick out including Bence Varga and Jozsef Gyano, who have both been knocking on the first team door. We want to carry on this process and make our youth system stronger.

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