CSABA LASZLO today admitted that his players were at rock bottom when he took over as Hearts manager last week. But he has vowed to work with each squad member individually to ensure that they approach the new season in the correct frame of mind.
The former Ferencvaros coach admitted that confidence levels among the squad were as low as they could get after last season's eighth-place finish in the SPL. And the players were dealt another blow when they returned to pre-season training at the en
d of last month to discover that interim head coach Stephen Frail had been placed on gardening leave.
However Laszlo's appointment brought to an end the seven-month search for a new manager and provided some much-needed stability for the players and supporters.
Laszlo has been in charge for less than a week but already appreciates that there is a lot of hard work ahead of him if Hearts are to challenge for a European place again this season.
And he conceded that there will have to be a number of changes in both the mental and physical approach if they are to reach the heights of a couple of seasons ago.
He said: "I think that we have a lot of work ahead of us and it has been important for me to see the players in action in the last two games. At the moment I think that we must change a lot of things.
"Eighth position in the table last season pushed everyone down and now a lot of players here do not have the confidence. When I came here they were very low but that is normal when you have had a bad season – it would be the same if you were Bayern Munich or Heart of Midlothian.
The full article contains 308 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
