Our supporters' forum held on Thursday evening at Lipták Grund Pub attracted great interest. Our club was represented by managing director Árpád Séllei, sporting director Sándor Fórizs, head coach Tamás Feczkó and our ten-time Hungary international Szilveszter Hangya.
The first question of the evening concerned developments in the transfer market and the period behind us. Sándor Fórizs said the squad assembled before the season was not suitable for remaining competitive if hit by injuries, so changes had to be made to the personnel.
„Unfortunately Kornél Ene, the experienced pillar of our defence, was ruled out immediately, so we constantly had to play with young defenders. We kept conceding goals from individual mistakes, and our young players found that difficult to process. Usually five or six academy players were in the team, but the results did not come. I found it hard to experience how unsuccessful we were. I worked on how I could strengthen the squad during the winter transfer window. Nine players left the NB II dressing room (including Vyacheslav Kulbachuk, Bence Nyitrai, Gergely Kocsis and Balázs Rácz moving to the NB III team), and six players arrived in their place. We tried to sign players who have proved themselves in NB II or have NB I experience and know how to achieve success. We are aware that the team needs a centre-forward, but the Hungarian market is very limited and it is not easy to sign players in winter. Tamás and I are currently working on that. The squad has improved a lot, we have made the team taller, which is important when defending set pieces.”
Our sporting director later also spoke about decisions made in the transfer market, including the departures of Attila Lőrinczy and Márk Gyetván, the loan moves of Ábel Krajcsovics and Zalán Kerezsi, and reducing the 'power' of agents.
Tamás Feczkó then took the floor and gave his opinion on the goals set by the club and the strength of the playing squad.
„The current fact is that we are bottom of NB II. If we do not move upwards, that is my responsibility. In Turkey we worked on making the team united. We have more than ten players who have played in NB I and ours is the fifth-most valuable squad in NB II. That means this is not where we belong. To make progress, we need not only the players but also you, the supporters, very much. The only thing that will matter is whether we win or not. I do not promise that we will play beautiful football; first and foremost we need effective football.”
Árpád Séllei highlighted the club's past and heritage and the steps taken to preserve its traditions, while Honvéd's financial situation was also discussed.
„This club has a great history, which is exactly why we have to deal with it. We have contacted Real Madrid and Wolverhampton, we have our own foundation, and on every front we are trying to bring the Puskás name to the fore. Our legends have stood behind us and will help. If this club were not called Honvéd, it would have ceased to exist long ago. I came from Szombathely; Haladás was put into liquidation for much smaller problems. We took over the club in a very poor state and had to transform many things. We want that to show on the pitch as well.”
There were also questions about communication mistakes – including the training trip to Turkey – which Tamás Feczkó answered.
„It had been arranged that we would play friendly matches on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In these situations, the company organising the training camp contacts both clubs, then we sign the contract and play each other. Arges dragged things out for a long time, and the Romanians eventually cancelled the match at the last minute citing illness. Things change there on a daily basis, so the options left were an internal game or a training session on two goals with another team. We need as many friendly matches as possible, and that is worth much more than organising an internal match or simply training."
Séllei then added to Feczkó's comments on the subject:
„We had a signed contract with the Romanians. The two clubs do not speak directly to each other in such cases; only the company organising the training camp is in contact with the Turkish organisers. FIFA has to approve these. Friday's match was cancelled for the reasons mentioned, and the match organisers offered Shakhtar's U19 team as a possible option. It was not listed as an official match but as a two-goal training session. They also found the referees there on site˝ – added our managing director.
Szilveszter Hangya shared some thoughts about processes inside the dressing room and the team's mentality.
„First of all, I would like to thank you for the love I receive from you. It is an honour for me as well to play for this huge club. I did not come here to wind down my career; if anyone thinks that, they are completely mistaken. I want to get into the best possible condition. I will try to leave everything on the pitch and play with the mentality that has characterised me throughout my career. I am also trying to pass that on to the younger players in the dressing room. I can promise that the team will fight and work hard. There have previously been clashes within the team after certain matches because of mentality. We have to fight for one another, for you and for the club. We have come through an unlucky autumn season. We did not play our best against Vasas, but that was where our mentality showed most clearly and we managed to win. I can promise one thing for certain: everyone will run until they drop. That is the minimum in this shirt.”
Our ten-time Hungary international also revealed that the team does not work with a psychologist, so it falls to the older players to support the younger ones.
Mátyás Jakab's transfer to Juventus was also an unavoidable topic, and our sporting director explained in this connection why the club had not yet communicated anything.
„News can only be announced once every process has been completed. We reached an agreement with Juventus and signed the contracts. In Italy, however, the news came out immediately. The transfer still has to be approved by FIFA. We can only announce this transfer on our platforms once FIFA has also approved it and the move becomes official”
The forum was closed by the words of Tamás Feczkó, who was asked to predict what position the team could reach in the table this season.
„That is a very complex question. The realistic target is to reach mid-table. We have to finish among the leaders of the spring table. We are currently eight points from 10th place, which is a lot, but we have to make that up because Honvéd cannot be in this position. We have to move forward week by week, step by step, as high as possible, so that you can go on your summer holidays with peace of mind.”
The last word belonged to the supporters, who framed everything that had been said with the chant „Kispest! Kispest!”.
Thank you for coming!
And anyone who could not be there, or would like to watch the supporters' forum again, can do so here:
