FC St. Pauli

Fabian Hürzeler on…

…the squad situation: "We'll have to see how Jackson Irvine is doing. He had a heavy mental and physical workload at the Asian Cup. You need a couple of days to recover. We shouldn't underestimate that, and we want to give him the time, so we'll have to wait and see whether he can train. We won't take any risks. Erik Ahlstrand is understanding our playing philosophy better and better. We had a very intensive training session yesterday where we saw that he can deal with the intensity. That's very important for our game. Simon Zoller has taken part in much of the training, and we'll liaise with the medical department in assessing when he's a candidate for the squad or the starting lineup."

…the state of the pitch and the atmosphere at the MDCC Arena: "I don't know exactly what awaits us. From the pictures it's not a great pitch but Magdeburg are also a team who like to play football, so I think the conditions will be the same for both sides. The atmosphere and the fan culture are different at every ground. You can prepare the players but lots of new situations arise during a game that you're not prepared for. Our goal is to make sure the players know what to expect. I think many of them have already played at Magdeburg. The atmosphere is special and we have to hold our own in it."

…chances on the break: "Transitional play is part of our game. Most of the chances we had in the second half against Fürth came on the counter. I don't think you can ever practice a phase of the game separately. Every attacking transition is followed by a defensive one. We try to be good in every phase, but we know we have room for improvement defensively. We're getting better all the time, though. The balance between defensive stability and attacking goal threat is what makes us stand out. At Magdeburg it will again be important for us to play with high intensity against a very good footballing side. We have to win lots of personal duels – that's what it'll come down to. A team that has lots of possession doesn't like chasing the ball so much, so we see a chance for us if we manage to impose our game on them."

…training in Mallorca for a week: "I would prefer to stay in Hamburg, of course. The trip is an additional burden for the players and staff. There isn't much of an alternative in Hamburg because every club has the same problems. Training on artificial turf for a week isn't feasible, so this is why we've taken this decision. Anyone who's seen the pitch will understand. It has little to do with a proper football pitch. The greasier and slippier the turf is, the greater the risk of injury. We took the decision together with the success of the club in mind, and that means we need every player. We have to act for the good of the players without taking any unnecessary risks. We know exactly what values the club stands for and what message we want to send to the public. Nevertheless, protecting the players takes precedent. Health is always more important than other things. It isn't a training camp, it's merely a change of the place where we train and keep our processes going. Mallorca, with the assistance of RCD Mallorca, has created the best conditions in that respect."

Photos: Witters