FC St. Pauli

"We spent quite some time considering what we could do in our situation," said Lienen. "We'd been thinking about strengthening the coaching team for a couple of weeks. Things became more concrete and we started looking. Eventually we opted for Olaf. We gained a very good impression from our discussions."

Lienen continued: "In view of the footballing situation we had to make improvements in every area, including the coaching team. Olaf is a great addition. He has a wealth of experience from various clubs. He explains what he wants in clear teams, as he demonstrated right away in his first session today. Olaf will be a valued member of the coaching team and help us with our match preparations and analysis as well as in our day-to-work in training, of course. We'll work everything out together in the team."

Janssen also gained a good impression from the talks with Lienen, which was a decisive factor in his move to St. Pauli. "The meeting was characterised by trust, respect and esteem with no trace of vanity," the new assistant coach said. "We talked about how we wanted to tackle things and were on the same wavelength right away. That motivated me to do my bit at St. Pauli. I want to contribute my expertise in the assistant coach role. We aim to pull together and steer things in the right direction."

The 50-year-old, who "made a conscious decision in favour of St. Pauli", one he feels "very comfortable" with, revealed a second reason for joining the Boys in Brown. "I kept track of St. Pauli for VfB Stuttgart throughout pre-season," he said. "In that time and during the game in Stuttgart I saw the quality inherent in the team. I couldn't understand why they were so far down the table." Another key factor for Janssen was the bond between the team, the coaching staff and the players. "My coaching colleagues are all aware of this and know that at St. Pauli this interaction generates a lot of mutual energy. That's unrivalled anywhere in Germany."

Photo: Witters