Ferencvaros task delights Short

Former Blackburn defender Craig Short is relishing the challenge of trying to improve the fortunes of Hungarian League side Ferencvaros.

The 41-year-old - who was assistant to Bobby Davison at the 28-times league champions - has taken charge until the winter break on 21 November.

"They are the Manchester United of Hungary and the fans want them at the top," Short told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"The winter break's nearly here so I've got to give it a go."

Ferencvaros, who are owned by Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe, are currently 11th in the table.

But, with the winter break imminent, Short is aware his long-term future may remain undecided for a number of weeks.

"There were some frightened players because there's a lot of pressure for them to perform in that sort of cauldron"

"Kevin's been over this week and asked me if I want to take it on, although I think they may still have someone else in mind," he said.

"If we win on Friday [against Honved] it makes me a stronger candidate for the job.

"It's been a steep learning curve but also a really good education from me."

Short's first game in charge against Diosgyori VTK was abandoned because of crowd trouble.

"We were 3-0 down at home and then when we scored the fans left the stadium, for some reason," he said.

"They then created a diversion at the front of the ground which the police went to. Then they came in through the family stand onto the pitch to have a go at the players. Riot police appeared from the corner of the stand and managed to stop them.

"Flares were thrown at players and they were taken off. We came back on after 10 minutes, but were only on for another four or five minutes before it all started again. So, the game was abandoned and the result stands as a 3-0 win.

"A lot of the players, who aren't Hungarian, just couldn't believe it. There were some frightened players because there's a lot of pressure for them to perform in that sort of cauldron."

Since then, the Bridlington-born manager, who ended his playing career with Sheffield United, has seen better results.

"Our next game was at home against third in the league Gyori ETO, but it was played behind closed doors," said Short.

"We played so well and it was a total transformation because there was no pressure on the players.

"We won 1-0 and the belief came flooding back. We then had a game three days later at a team in fourth position [Papa] and we also beat them 1-0. We played just as well and gained loads of confidence."

Short started his senior career as a player at Scarborough and also had spells at Notts County, Derby, Everton and the Budapest giants.

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