The SKN St. Pölten can look back on a successful autumn – mainly thanks to a furious season finish, the “wolf pack” in the ADMIRAL 2nd league was crowned the winter king.
The coaching duo around Stephan Helm and Emanuel Pogatetz played a not insignificant part in the success of the Lower Austrians. Immediately after relegation from the Bundesliga, the two, who already knew each other well from their time together at LASK, took over the fortunes on the sidelines of St. Pöltner in the summer of 2021.
After initial difficulties in the first season under Helm and Pogatetz and the season ended in eighth place, the club from the Lower Austrian capital advanced to become a real title candidate in the current season.
In St. Pölten, Helm and Co. want to establish sustainable, successful football with their game idea and club philosophy – the 39-year-old is also striving for further development on a personal level. As one of 21 candidates, the Pamhagener is currently taking part in the UEFA Pro License course.
In conversation with LAOLA1 the head coach of the SKN talks about the development of his team, his cooperation with Emanuel Pogatetz, the club and game philosophy as well as the interest of FK Austria Wien.
LAOLA1: After a first season in the 2nd division at SKN St. Pölten, which was characterized by ups and downs, your team has snagged the winter crown this year. What reasons do you see for this increase and what factors made the autumn so successful?
Stephan Helm: Already in the course of the first season you could see that the development was taking effect. It took a while, but from winter 2021 you could see more and more that the players understood the game idea. Accordingly, the appearance has improved and the results have followed. During the pre-season this season, we saw that we have a very good spirit in the team and that the players are increasingly understanding and implementing our game ideas. To be honest, a lot of things had to come together for this run over the last six laps.
The Schlaudraff-Pogatetz-Helm trio: Head coach Helm repeatedly emphasizes the positive working culture within the club
LAOLA1: You have been a functioning coaching duo with Emanuel Pogatetz since the summer of 2020. How does your cooperation work and how do you complement each other?
Stephan Helm: We have already spent a very intensive year together at LASK. We also found there that we tick very similarly and can still benefit a lot from each other. When we at SKN were able to take on this task together, it was of course a process of further improving and coordinating the cooperation. It’s great fun working as a duo at SKN, and fortunately that’s reflected in the current results.
LAOLA1: What kind of football do you want to put on the field with your team? What game idea do you and Emanuel Pogatetz want to implement with your team?
Stephan Helm: Ultimately, the football we play is a combination of the ideas of Emanuel Pogatetz and me. A football that is built on a dominant appearance in all four phases. We want to play combinational, courageous and very goal-oriented football with the ball and create a lot of chances. We also have the second most goals in the league. We want to play intensively against the ball, but still retain a certain flexibility.
LAOLA1: To come back to the goals of the SKN St. Pölten: you are currently on a course for advancement. Does the title have to be the big goal now? If not, what are your goals for the second half of the season?
Stephan Helm: The development has been very rapid. At the club we are all aware that you have to keep an eye on the longer-term goals. Of course we have now taken a big step relatively quickly, but we are aware that we have to lay the foundation for the future. Many not so visible things in the background still have to be built up. The fact that we are currently in first place is just a sign of the good work being done at SKN. We want to get the maximum out of it and will do everything to achieve it. Our players still need time, we have a very young team. For us, the focus is on becoming more stable, getting squad stability, so we will definitely take our next steps as a club.
The SKN wants to build on the youth – homegrown Din Barlov was able to cause a sensation in the fall
LAOLA1: The winter transfer window was unspectacular at SKN St. Pölten. George Davies moved to the league competitor in the southern part of the city, there were only a few newcomers. Is that a vote of confidence in the team?
Stephan Helm: Continuity and squad stability are factors that clearly increase the likelihood of success. We already pursued this plan in the summer, when we kept 75% of the squad together. We’re going to continue on this path now, we’re very happy with the team. Some young players have developed very well and we want to build on that. It is clearly one of our major goals to promote self-build players. Julian Keiblinger, Christoph Messerer, Jaden Montnor or Din Barlov, who became one of our top scorers, are just a few of many examples. Jan Schlaudraff always has his eyes open, but we want to proceed according to plan. But if we want to improve, we’ll do it.
LAOLA1: In the summer, the club managed to strike gold with Bochum on loan from Luis Hartwig. How do you monitor his development and how do you assess his role in the season so far?
Stephan Helm: Working with Luis is of course an exciting project. He came straight from Bochum in the Bundesliga, which is of course also interesting for us. Luis is doing very well so far, but is only part of the whole. Those who end up scoring the goals benefit from the fact that a lot of work goes on behind them. His development is pleasing, I think that is also noticed in Germany. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
LAOLA1: In December 2022, the club announced their contract extension until summer 2025. What factors spoke in favor of this?
Stephan Helm: I have to correct this: We had actually extended the contract to 2025 in September. The association and especially Jan Schlaudraff took the initiative to confirm that we really want to go through with our long-term project. I think that was also a reason for the positive development in autumn.
Helm and Co. are pursuing a clear plan with the “Wolves” – there’s no time for rumours.
LAOLA1: In January, Austria also considered Emanuel Pogatetz and you as candidates to succeed Manfred Schmid as part of their search for a coach. How much would you have been interested in this task?
Stephan Helm: Of course it’s great that the good work of the club, as well as that of Emanuel and me, is also noticed from the outside. Of course we are happy about that. However, our focus is always on the SKN St. Pölten, because we are pursuing this project with all our energy.
Text source: © LAOLA1.at
