FC St. Pauli

... his decision in favour of FC St. Pauli: "I received lots of congratulations for my decision. The stadium, the city and the fans all offer great conditions for working here but even more important are the ideas the club expressed during our talks. FC St. Pauli has progressed quickly as a club in recent years. It will be important to transfer this progress to the pitch."

.... his contact to the club: "I’ve known Oke a very long time. The first time we met was in Freiburg when I was about to become head of the football school there. We stayed in touch after that and in this time we realised that we shared the same idea of what football should look like. The timing has to be right, though, and that’s where we’re at now."

... the objectives on the pitch: "Big steps also require lots of little ones. I want to do my bit to achieving that and making our ambitions clearer. We want to play a style of football that goes with the club. I’m really looking forward to this task."

... the next steps: "In the short-term it’s about developing the squad. We aim to strengthen the team in the next few weeks, of course. Along with the coach, it’s our job to stabilise the team. That’s always easy to say but it’s elementary. Last season we had too many injuries and conceded too many goals, which proved decisive. Despite our long-term goals, we mustn’t lose focus here and that’s where I want to get started with the coach and the backroom staff."

... his football analysis: "The squad is always assessed in close cooperation with the coach. We ask ourselves how we can put the team in a position where it can hold its own and be successful in all 34 second division matches. You can have all the talent you want, but if you aren’t physically capable of transferring that talent to the pitch, you aren’t going to be successful. As well as devising a profile for every position, we’ve come up with some ideas. Whether we can put them into practice and how remains to be seen. Every coach and every club want to have a stable axis in the team. There are still some question marks here because of injuries to players such as Philipp Ziereis and Henk Veerman. You can build an axis around them, but we mustn’t forget that with 25 players we already have quite a big squad."

... possible departures: "It’s a balancing act. We respect contracts, though it may be the case that we speak to players about whether a loan deal or a transfer makes sense in view of the coach’s idea of football. We won’t try to push any players out, though. Nothing will be done without mutual consent. We’ll have a more detailed look at it at the beginning of ore-season, however. Overall, our starting point must be that we see a qualitative change rather than a quantitive one."

... possible arrivals: "It’s difficult to say when the squad will be finalised for the new season. It depends on so many factors, including the shift in start date in the first division. If you have the opportunity to strengthen the squad, it may be the case that you have to take your time and react only when the option presents itself."

Photos: Witters