FC St. Pauli

"On paper we're up against a side who are next to bottom in the table and lost their last away game 5-0 at Union Berlin, but the real situation is a different one," said Janßen. "They have a new coach and beat Fürth 3-0. Not only did they play with passion and battle hard, they also adopted  a new system with a very solid back five, which is the mark of the new coach, Jeff Strasser. They give very little away and have an exceptionally strong squad in terms of counterattacking and pace. They're capable of punishing mistakes straightaway and will make life difficult for us. We need to be patient and find footballing solutions."

The injury list is getting shorter, with only Marc Hornschuh and Philipp Heerwagen sidelined besides long-term casualties Ryo Miyaichi and Philipp Ziereis. Mats Møller Dæhli looks set to feature in the squad along with Christopher Buchtmann, who marked his return to action with a goal and an assist at Braunschweig last time out. "Buchti has worked very hard in training and is really up for it," said Janßen. "He's isn't quite back to 100% yet, of course, but is almost his old self again. Mats has been in training for a week now but is still not fully fit. We'll have to wait and see how the game is going before deciding if there's an opportunity to bring him on."

There was bad news on the attacking front, however, as Aziz Bouhaddouz is not likely be an option. Janßen: "His calf tightened up again while he was warming up before Tuesday's international game. He's being examined and we'll simply have to wait and see how things turn out." Asked about Sami Allagui and his situation, Janßen replied: "Sami is top fit. I've been around long enough to know strikers go through dry spells. Sami always gives his all in training. I'm very happy with him and the way he's dealing with the situation. He's doing everything he can to get back among the goals as soon as possible."

The whole team will need to give their all against a deep-defending Lautern side and Janßen has used the international break to work on this. "In training we've been concentrating on our possession game and attacking down the flanks," Janßen said. "We've prepared well for the game and the opposition but will now focus only on ourselves."

With another sell-out crowd expected at the Millerntor, Janßen has a clear idea of what it will take to beat Lautern. "We have to go out and enjoy our football," he said. "And I'm sure we'll sense the players are enjoying themselves. The league table and the stats are irrelevant when the referee blows his whistle to start the game. A packed stadium awaits us. We need to go at full power from the off. That should be all the motivation we need."

Photos: Witters