FC St. Pauli

"Everyone will be on board," said head coach Fabian Hürzeler immediately after the friendly against Randers. By "everyone", Hürzeler meant the entire first-team squad plus Under-23 players Bennet Winter and Luca Günther, who have been with the senior group since the start of pre-season. Under-23 shotstopper Kevin Jendrzej also travelled and will complete the goalkeeper team in the Passeier Valley.

Maurides is the only player who has not been able to train with the squad since the resumption of training two-and-a-half weeks ago. The striker is still in rehab after undergoing knee surgery at the end of March but is also attending training camp. "It's good for him to be close to the team after having been far away recently," said Hürzeler. "He's working extremely hard in rehab and is back doing running work on the pitch and making progress."

Hürzeler expressed his satisfaction with the pre-season preparations so far. "The intensity and commitment levels in training are very high and the attitude is right," he said in praise of the players before adding: "The lads have to set themselves new standards. This preparation is different compared with last winter or last summer. I'm asking them to challenge their bodies again."

That means work will continue on laying the physical foundations for next season at training camp because, as Hürzeler put it, "fitness is the gold standard for our game". Other focal points in the Passeier Valley will be work on the ball, solutions in the final third, positioning, and transitional play.

Also on the training camp agenda is the appointment of the captain and the players' committee. "There'll definitely be only one captain this year and I will pick him," said Hürzeler before departure. Turning to the players' committee, he added: "We'll look at how it's chosen at training camp. I have a firm idea in my mind. I'm not a fan of flat hierarchies, I prefer very small hierarchies within the team. Specific players should be on the players' committee."

No team-building events have been planned, as the players will spend a lot of time together during the ten days in any case and will no doubt have opportunities to do things together before returning to Hamburg. "The lads should get out on their day off, so we'll plan a few activities as options for them," said Hürzeler.

Photos: FC St. Pauli