In discussion with Gyorgy Sandor - Part 1

Gyorgy Sandor managed to break into the international squad once again, and also became a regular for Videoton FC. Sandor also took over the captains armband after Zoltan Liptak left the club. We asked him to take a look back over the last six months.

Lets begin our summary of the autumn season at the very beginning, or even a little earlier than that, when you found out that Videoton FC will have a new manager. How does a player cope with a change like this?

When a new manager arrives at a club, those who have not played so much, will be filled with hope that they will have a new chance. Those who are stable members of the team, know very well that they will have to prove what they can do all over again. I am just saying this generally, as I cannot look into the head of anyone. One thing for sure is that there has been lots of changes over the last few months, and we had to adapt to a new manager, coaching staff, and we also had several new players arrive. The overall picture is good, and things are positive, with us standing well in the league cup, and things are still going to plan in both the Hungarian cup and the league itself. The teams form and results over the last eight games paint a positive picture. 

Lets go back to the summer. There was plenty of hope ahead of the Champions league, and we were not as inexperienced as many claimed a year earlier. Did our going out of the cup to Sturm Graz cause great disappointment?

There was some form of similarity to the game with Maribor, a year earlier, in that once again we did not go out with a settled side. The team had not blended, and it could not have done either, so the result was not disappointing. One pleasing aspect was the home match with them, in front of a big crowd, that backed us well, and it was a good match and we won. 

We had to concentrate on the domestic league, and looking back over the results, you can see a new Videoton side nicely blending together.

I did not feel that the team was that bad at the start. I have said previously that I felt we play good football, and we create chances, and had we taken advantage of them, it would have resulted in a better result. We started to get used to one another, and the hierarchy within the team began to develop. The relationship between the new manager and the players also became stronger. Do not forget that the changes to personal did not only mean, that new players arrived, but also that the task changed for those players who remained. Alves, for example has his hands tied more, and he is playing as a positional player, when earlier he had a free role. 

It is clear that the changes mirror the new manager. How would you sum up Paulo Sousa's work?

Once again I can say, that I cannot talk in other peoples names. With regards to myself, I became an international player again, and have become a stable player in the team. I have also become the captain of the side, so I feel that I had a good autumn season, and that the coaching staff have faith in me. I am determined not to disappoint both them and the players. My own role also changed, and Paulo is counting more on my attacking play, and I have been playing further up the pitch. I needed time to get used to this, but I am satisfied, but still know that I have to develop even further, like in goalscoring for example. 

You did score one of the goals of the season in the home match with Siofok.

Nacho said that he would have saved it… I replied that I am happy he is not the Siofok goalkeeper.