Slovan shocked to be top in Slovakia

ŠK Slovan Bratislava have surprisingly gone into the winter break as the top side in Slovakia with new coach Ladislav Pecko saying: "To be honest, I didn't expect that we would have had such good results at this stage."

Promising start
The 1968/69 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winners won the last of their four post-independence titles in 1998/99, but look to be in a strong position at the winter break, with 40 points from their first 18 games leaving them four ahead of second-placed MŠK Žilina. At the same stage last season, they had 24 points and ended up finishing fifth.

'Full of emotion'
"To be honest, I didn't expect that we would have had such good results at this stage," said 40-year-old coach Pecko, who took charge in the spring after an exemplary career as a right-back for the club, which saw him set a record with 431 league appearances over 17 years with Slovan. "At the end of the first half of the season I was full of emotion."

New owner
The arrival of new owner Ivan Kmotrík, who had previously bankrolled successes for FC Artmedia Petržalka, has helped a great deal, with Pecko adding: "Being in first place in the winter is the best start for the second part of the competition. I want to fight for the title, and even the fact that we won't have a home ground should motivate the players."

Inter's lodgers
Sure enough, Slovan are on the move. Their old Tehelné Pole (literally 'Brick field') home is being torn down after 68 years to be redeveloped into a new stadium for the club and the national team. For the moment, Slovan will be moving in with their neighbours from the other side of Bajkalská Street, AŠK Inter Bratislava. Slovan said adieu to their old home with a 2-0 win against Žilina, with Branislav Obžera - a summer signing from Artmedia - scoring twice. "After the final whistle I was pretty overcome," admitted Pecko.

'Half the job'
Forward Pavol Masaryk has been one of Slovan's season so far, topping the national goalscorers table with 12. "To lead those rankings as well as being top of the table is a fantastic feeling," he said. However, team captain Michal Hanek is eager to rein in the euphoria. "We have only done half the job," he said. "I am satisfied, but nothing is certain. The secret of our success was that after a few rounds we start to believe in ourselves. New players came in and competition for places grew. All this helped us to the current and more pleasant situation."