Thursday 19 November 2015 11:49, UK
In the spring, Daniel Tozser was celebrating promotion with Watford and a regular in the Hungary team. Now he's struggling for form at QPR and in danger of missing an historic trip to Euro 2016. Adam Bate caught up with him at QPR's training ground to discuss difficulties with club and country.
At Queens Park Rangers' Harlington training ground, the noise of the engines from the runways at Heathrow serves as a constant reminder. Daniel Tozser should have been on a plane to Budapest this week and celebrating Hungary's qualification for Euro 2016 - their first major tournament in 30 years. Instead, the midfielder with 31 caps was axed from the squad and missed all the excitement.
"It was like a big slap in the face because I'd played the whole qualification period and then for the most important two games I wasn't even in the squad," Tozser tells Sky Sports. "It was a surprise. Of course, the coach has the right but I just needed a phone call. If he'd said, 'Listen, I'm putting another player in front of you and you won't be called up' then that's life. It wasn't the best time."
Looking back, the clues were there. Tozser was hauled off after 45 minutes of Hungary's penultimate qualifier with the team 1-0 down at home to the Faroe Islands. But there were mitigating circumstances. His wife had just given birth to his second child. "One day before the game I flew from Budapest to London," he says.
"The baby was born and I spent the whole night here. It wasn't the best night's sleep, to be honest! On the day of the game, I flew back to Budapest and played the game. It was far from optimal." His frustration is obvious but his tone is soft. The loss of friend and team-mate Marton Fulop, aged 32, on the day of the first leg of Hungary's play-off against Norway encourages a more reflective mood.
And so, when Tozser says he's pleased for his international colleagues, it's sincere. "I am connected with the guys every day so, of course, I'm very happy," he adds. "This is a big thing in Hungary now. The media is going crazy. Everyone is so excited. I just have to focus on QPR to change things here and then look to the Euros. I'm not a person who likes to give up. I'll do my best and then we'll see."
Unfortunately, things aren't much more settled on the club front. Earlier this month, Chris Ramsey was sacked and Neil Warnock is currently in temporary charge of the team. The good news for Tozser is that he has seen all this before. The 30-year-old was a regular in the Watford side that won promotion last season despite having four different managers during the course of the campaign.
He scored five goals and won over the fans with his set-piece delivery and the control he brought in midfield. "Watford was a fantastic experience for me with good memories," says Tozser. "I only missed one game of the 46 last season so I had an important role in it. It really felt like home. I'm just happy for the guys now. It was brilliant but you have to move on. Football is like this."
QPR fans could be forgiven for being nonplussed. They are yet to see the best of their new signing. But any awkwardness in broaching this subject is soon dispelled thanks to Tozser's disarming honesty. "On the pitch, I have to improve," he says. "If someone says they have done well up until now, they're lying because we're not winning enough at the moment. But I'm working on it.
"To be honest, it wasn't the easiest period of my life because of the changes. I only signed for QPR just before the deadline. Then I had the qualification games for the Euros. I didn't really have any preparation time. I had to play and I wasn't in good condition so it was difficult. But I'm over it now. I feel better in myself after every game but still I have to improve and the team have to improve.
"QPR is in a time where they are trying to change a lot of things in order to stabilise the club a little bit. We have a lot of new players and I am one of them, of course. It's difficult but the supporters have to accept this. They want to see QPR in the Premier League but it will take some time to change things before we reach the target. It's not easy but we are working hard.
"The situation with the new gaffer isn't clear at the moment but the lads are together and the group is very good even in the circumstances. There's no question, we have the possibility of going up automatically if you look at the players individually. But football is not an individual sport. We need much more than that. We need a lot of good ingredients to come together."
Tozser talks like a man who's seen a lot in the game and for good reason. He was still a teenager living with his parents when he left his homeland to play for Galatasaray. "That was the moment I became an adult," he says. "I was working under Fatih Terim and training with Hakan Sukur, Hasan Sas and Frank de Boer. Galatasaray were in a fantastic period and that was a brilliant experience."
It was just the start of his nomadic journey. Tozser later spent two years in Greece with AEK Athens, playing in the Champions League against AC Milan at the San Siro, before winning the title with Genk during his four seasons in Belgium. There was even a season in Serie A with Genoa before he embarked upon the English leg of his adventures abroad.
"I will have to write a book to talk about all my experiences because I've worked with every type of manager in a lot of different countries," he says. "There were lots of different styles of football. I think Italy is the most tactically complete football in Europe. It's difficult to score in Italy. Everyone is crazy about defending over there. That's the basic rule, then you go forward from there."
Now he's in the Championship and there are new challenges. "For sure, there's a big difference," he adds. "It's a really tough league with a lot of games - 46 a year plus cups and internationals. It's much more open so you see a lot of goals and everything is possible. The bottom can beat the top and there is a lot of physical stuff - running and duels. But there are still some brilliant players."
Some of the better ones are at QPR. It's just a case of getting things right on the pitch. With a two-year contract and the option of a third, Tozser wants to be a part of the solution by showing the form he produced for Watford last term. If he can do that, and if he gets his chance, he hasn't given up on Euro 2016 just yet. Or indeed, a belated crack at the Premier League.
"I reached it with Watford so I want to test myself, of course," he says. "I feel fit so I think I have a few years left yet. Even in a difficult period I believe that with hard work I can change things. I am okay with the guys and I don't have any problems with anyone so I feel pretty comfortable in the dressing room. It's a nice group so that helps for a newcomer.
"I am happy here and I don't want to move. Of course, we need the results and you can't have plans for years ahead in football, you just have to prepare game by game. But my two big targets are to win promotion and to go to the Euros. On the pitch, I have to give an answer." Maybe the noise of those planes will inspire him all the way to France 2016 and take QPR back to the Premier League.
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