FC St. Pauli

Fabian Hürzeler on...

…the injury situation and possible changes to the side: "All the players came out of the game OK. Oladapo Afolayan had cramp but was all right again later that evening. We were back on the training ground yesterday and no one had any major problems. We'll train again this afternoon. It will depend on how the players feel today and what the structure of the team looks like. I keep emphasising that we have good depth in the squad and that everyone is capable of starting a game. The players who aren't getting much playing time at the moment are all extremely motivated and staking a claim in training. In the end I'm spoilt for choice and have to make a decision."

...new signing Erik Ahlstrand: "He's a very young player with great potential. He's exactly the kind of player St. Pauli stands for. We want to get him playing quickly because that's the only way young players will develop. He trained yesterday and will do so again today and then we'll decide whether he's involved tomorrow. The fact is that we signed Erik so he can help us straightaway."

...Marcel Hartel: "He's someone who's becoming increasingly businesslike and mature as a player. He does things that help the team and by that I don't mean his goals. He's learned how to defend because he knows the willingness to defend your own goal has to be at the maximum level. He's internalised that more and more since he joined us, and I have to give him great credit for that because it's something special."

...the game plan: "We can't use the same game plan again. Düsseldorf won't make it as easy as that for us. We watched the game back together and saw that Düsseldorf had lots of good phases. We did an enormous amount of running because Düsseldorf did a good job on the ball. Maybe they'll come up with something for their pressing game. Applying pressure man-on-man for 90 minutes saps your energy. Tomorrow will be about responding well to certain adjustments in the way Düsseldorf play. Above all, the foundation will be bringing similar running stats to the pitch again. Getting behind the backline against their man-for-man pressing will be a key to success again tomorrow."

...the historic chance to reach the semi-final for the first time since 2006: "The DFB Cup is always special and it has a special significance for me as well. Getting to the semi-final would be a great achievement. We're obviously looking forward to the game."

...Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe, who are doing well at the Asian Cup: "I'd have liked to have them both here and tomorrow is no exception. The fact is, however, that I wish my players the maximum personal success. I couldn't see all of yesterday's game because we were on the way back. They were the better team and deserved to beat Indonesia. The next game against Saudi Arabia or South Korea will be a cracker."

Photos: Witters