FC St. Pauli

Fabian Hürzeler on…

...the personnel situation: "Leart Paqarada will return to training today and is thus fit to play. Marcel Beifus is ill. We'll have to wait and see if he recovers in time. Otherwise, everyone's available apart from the known injured players and Eric Smith, who is suspended."

...the mood after the derby defeat: "It wasn't ideal at the start of the week, of course, which is natural. We went over the game and highlighted the mistakes, but we also highlighted the positives and that it's all part of a process. We continue to look ahead because there are still 15 points up for grabs. That’s allowed us to get our heads back up and focus on the next game. We go into the game feeling positive and the mood is good again. I've noticed the lads becoming more and more positive, especially over the last couple of days."

...dealing with the two defeats: "We're in a process and defeats are a part of it, and it’s the same for me as a coach. I'm not a good loser but I must and will find a way to deal with it. I'll learn from it and am not totally helpless, I know what to do. I have a clear plan of how I want to proceed and I'm very transparent with the players in the way I communicate with them."

...Arminia Bielefeld: "We're up against similar opposition to Braunschweig. They'll probably sit back and keep things tight defensively and switch the play via target man Fabian Klos. He's a good wall player who holds the ball up well and lays it off for advancing players such as Robin Hack or Masaya Okugawa. Looking at them from the outside you can see they're a team and that new coach Uwe Koschinat has definitely made a difference. They won't come here and attack. They'll try to keep a clean sheet and be good in transition. It’ll be important not to make the same mistake we made against Braunschweig. We need to have structure in our build-up and counter-press well. In our preparations we're focusing mainly on finding solutions on the ball against deep-lying opposition."

...potential new targets: "I'm someone who never gives up and so are my players. We'll try and invest everything we can as long as we can. It's still important for us to take each game as it comes, as we have been doing in the second half of the season. We haven't set any new targets for the time being because our target was already to win games, and that’s how it remains. We have a stable foundation and the players are mentally stable, so two defeats, including a bitterly disappointing derby defeat, aren't going to knock us off our stride. It's human nature to be disappointed for a couple of days. We've had lots of one-on-one conversations and drawn out the positives. I don't gloss over defeats, but I do know we did lots of things well. We have a team who stand together, especially after moments like these, which are a part of a process. We have to focus on the future now and that's Arminia Bielefeld."

...the possibility of the season drifting to a close: "My coaching team, the staff and I aim to lead the way and make clear that we still have five games to go and still have a chance of achieving something. No one needs to motivate me. I'm ambitious enough to want to win every game. We're trying to push the players to the limit and prepare them for every game. Every game is important for our development and for next season to ensure we go into it with a positive energy. We also owe it to the fans to approach every game to the full. We're trying to get the maximum out of the season."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters