TRAINING sessions have taken on fresh appeal at Hearts since the appointment of Csaba Laszlo. Watching the Hungarian coach his players at Rudesheim's Rheingau Stadium, there is one dominant voice echoing around this modest but tidy venue. For Laszlo, communication is everything.
"Yes, one-zero," he yells as Eggert Jonsson rasps one of several strikes into the net during a bounce game. "When you have the ball, be open. If you lose the ball, then you close."
His instructions are clear, precise and sensible – not always th
e case on Hearts' previous pre-season trips.
He orders "simple passes" and isn't afraid to stop exercises to convey his message whilst being conscious not to criticise unnecessarily. Whereas players often consider pre-season training schedules about as exciting as Sunday lunch with the grandparents, there appears a willingness within the Hearts squad to attune to Laszlo's methods.
The manager's aim is to inject belief back into a group which, he explains, was mentally low when he first arrived in Edinburgh. "That's vital right now. It's not only about the training, the running and how quick you are.
" I want to bring the confidence back and I want the players to know that if they make a mistake they will be behind them to help out. The first training session I had with them was so bad. Nobody was speaking but that is changing.
" Right now the smiles are coming back. It's very nice to see that.
" One day before we came to Germany, one of the members of my technical staff said, 'coach, you have brought the smiles back to our face. I haven't seen so many players smiling for years'.
"It's vital to show to the players how important they are to each other. Now we don't have two players at a table at dinner, we have eight. Even the coaching staff are the same. We all sit together and discuss important issues. We must all be together."
Small issues like Laszlo's insistence on taking a hands-on approach have reinvigorated team morale. The sight of him carrying training goals alongside both youth and first-team players emphasises an all-for-one and one-for-all attitude. "From what I have seen so far the quality of the side is okay but we don't have experience," he said. "Tactically every player must work very hard.
"Right now some of the players want to do things but they are unsure, a bit apprehensive. It's a crazy situation but with a bit of target training we can give them confidence. Everyone knows we have to play a lot of tactical games and know what we have to do in each position.
"Every player wants to play the old English style – kick and run. They think, 'if I kick I don't have responsibility'. I want to change that attitude. I want responsibility on the field. It's not enough for me to have players who kick the ball and then wait. You must know what to do when you don't have the ball. You must be able to stop the ball, to give the pass and then move into space."
When training sessions are over Laszlo retreats with his coaching staff, Tam Ritchie and Angel Chervenkov, to the team hotel. New recruits rank prominently on the agenda, another area where Laszlo's teamwork ethic will be utilised as he works in tandem with Vladimir Romanov, Hearts' majority shareholder.
"Mr Romanov has opinions about the football, as does any owner of a football club. The most important thing for us is to go back to where we were. I have been in football for a long time and I have 100 per cent control over everything," said the manager.
"Targets? Every club has a target, every club has a focus that they are aiming to reach. But we have a very clear rule. Before we make a decision I would like to talk with the club owner and we will make the best choice together.
"We have five or six names and we must look at which ones are best for the club. I don't want to make a mistake, we must look at a player's character and attitude and make sure he would like to play for this club. I met Mr Romanov for a short time and we will make decisions together. He will come to Wiesbaden for talks and we will try to make the club successful like it was before.
"We need to move step by step to make this club get back again. The most important is to go up the table. I know we have the quality to get to the UEFA Cup and the most important thing is for us to do that. For me that's important and also for the fans. Four years ago, things were different at Hearts. The attitude was different from everyone then. But Mr Romanov knows 100 per cent what the situation is with this team. When we talked before he didn't say to me, 'you must take this team straight to first place'. He wishes we could be in first place but he is realistic. He knows that for us the important thing is to have a team who can qualify for the UEFA Cup next season."
The full article contains 892 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
