Even though he had only visited the MOL Arena Sósto as an opponent, István Sallói hardly needed to ask for directions when he first set his sights on the stadium as the new sports director. We spoke to the 54-year-old about the tasks ahead.

Is it rather the old memories that came back to you at Sósto, or are the thoughts about the future of the club stronger?

I don't think you can split it in two. I spent some fantastic years in Fehérvár, I practically grew up here. I've said it many times, I was 14 when Guszti Csiszár discovered me at a youth tournament, and after that - apart from my military service - I lived and played in Székesfehérvár for 27 years, and now I'm very happy to be back at the club. I remember that I always followed the work of Dr. Ottó Brávácz (then President) with great interest, which was a great inspiration for me to choose a career as a sports manager after my retirement. I have been waiting for this job for twenty years, and from this moment on we have been working together to build a successful team.

The new league season starts on Sunday, what are the most important tasks?

As we are in the middle of the transfer season, the priority is obviously to strengthen the squad. Vidi must play every game with the aim of winning, but it must be said that the coaching staff is facing major problems, because an incredible wave of injuries has swept through the team and the plans for reinforcements have not yet materialised. Three new players have arrived, one has left and a few have been transferred to the reserve team. We need a minimum of three or four quality players, but we are confident that we will be able to strengthen our squad before the transfer window closes.

Does this mean that significant player movement is expected?

I'm thinking about three transfer periods at the moment, the first of which is a bit of a truncated one, I mean that we are about halfway through at the end of July and not all the transfers have materialised so far. The aim now is to stay within striking distance in the autumn and then to further strengthen the team in the winter with an aggressive transfer policy. The squad could do with some fresh blood, with up to 8-10 new players arriving in the next year. We need motivated, talented players who can represent Vidi in the right way. I can say, in consultation with owner István Garancsi, that the medium-term goal is to regain the league title and qualify for one of the European group stages. In addition, the club management expects to have Hungarian players of national team level in the squad, so we have to build a team of the right quality with these in mind. The biggest difficulty at the moment is that we are under time pressure and the coaching staff need players who can be deployed immediately, but we must not make any rash decisions and tie ourselves down for the long term with players who cannot help the club in the long term. At the moment the head coach has 14 healthy, senior outfield players available, that is not enough. Despite the difficulties, we need to improve the composition of the squad in terms of quantity and quality.

When will you meet the team and the coaching staff?

I'll meet everyone for the first time before the training session on Tuesday morning, but of course I know most of the coaching staff and players - Imre Szabics and I have already worked together with the Hungarian national team. I don't want to throw big words and clichés around, I'm sure that the defeat against Ararat was not only hard for the fans, but also for the dressing room, but I don't want to dwell on the past, I'm focused on the tasks ahead.

Having come through the Vidi youth system, how do you see the situation of the youth team in Fehérvár?

I would love to talk for hours about what it was like growing up here in the 80s, what kind of pitches we played on and what kind of equipment we had to use, whereas today, when I walk around the training centre in Sosto, I see that although we cannot talk about an academy, the girls and boys from Fehérvár can train in completely professional conditions. Of course, I wouldn't trade my youth for anything, as we had the chance to learn from great professionals, but the club has made huge strides in this area too. We would like to exploit the talent of young people from Fehérvár and the surrounding area, and the professional staff is open to this, as several young players have been training with the first team since the summer. The first team and the NB III also have a dressing room for local talent, but we need them for this. I hope many of them will kick down those particular doors.

What are our targets for the 2021/2022 season?

Vidi has had great results in the past, but in the past ten years or so, thanks to the new ownership and the work of the people who work here, it has become one of the most influential clubs in Hungary. As a result, fans, the public and the industry automatically expect Székesfehérvár to win the championship or the cup. There is nothing wrong with that, because anyone who works in professional sport has to be able to perform under pressure, but there are seasons in the life of every club that are all about transition. What I can say at the moment is that we will be working with the professional staff to get through this transition period as quickly and successfully as possible, so that the team can once again be in contention for a championship. I know the squad well, I've always followed what's going on at the club, and I still have many friends at the club with whom I have close and ongoing contact. Almost all my former teammates called me and congratulated me, so I can say that the Vidi family was a little moved by the news, and that was very good. But even with all the sentimentality, you have to be realistic about the team's situation - Ferencváros has gotten very strong in the last two years, and we have to work hard to be competitive again. But everything is there in Fehérvár, so we need to get closer to them in the next transfer window, and in the long term we want to overtake our rivals.

So far you have often been seen and heard on sports channels as a television pundit, and you are known for your outspoken and honest opinions, and based on your answers so far, István Sallói as the sport director of Vidi will be no different. Can we continue to see and read your opinions on other topics not necessarily concerning Vidi?

István Sallói would certainly not change if he wanted to, but he has no intention of doing so. For Vidi, I have now let go of many things close to my heart. I spent a very nice three years in Zalaegerszeg, the club has developed very nicely, we managed to sign a lot of talented players whose development would have been a great pleasure to watch closely, but the opportunity to return home has outweighed everything. One of those "let go" things now is TV, which I also loved doing, working with great partners with whom we continued to plan the future together, but that storyline was overwritten. I've been given a great opportunity to work for my parent club and now, in this situation, I want to put all my energy into making the club as successful as possible. Actually, that is my answer to the second part of the question, I don't want these external things to take time away from my work here, so I may be less vocal, but I don't have to worry about cutting back completely if the club's interests require it.