FC St. Pauli

"We're really looking forward to the best team in the league at the moment," an upbeat Janßen began. The Köpenick-based outfit had to settle for a 1-1 draw at MSV Duisburg last weekend after conceding a late equaliser that brought a run of four wins in succession to an end, but they performed well against Leverkusen in the cup before that despite making nine changes to the side. "That's an indication of the depth they have in the squad," the St. Pauli boss continued. "They're solid at the back and attack with power and creativity, so we'll be pushed to the limit. We're looking forward to the challenge, though. We want to create problems for them and won't shy away from the ball. Instead, we'll play football ourselves and bring our DNA to the pitch."

There was good news on the injury front, with both Aziz Bouhaddouz and Clemens Schoppenhauer returning to training. Commenting on the options that could offer against Union, Janßen said: "Schoppe wasn't out for long and is already back to 100% but we'll have to wait and see whether Aziz is an option for the bench. Cenk Sahin and Richard Neudecker could resume full training next week." The boss knows the value of his Moroccan striker: "Aziz has been out for a while and has some catching up to do in terms of fitness, of course, but with his presence and finishing ability from all angles he could still be of help to us even if he only makes a brief appearance. The question is whether he has the necessary energy and strength."

Following the change of tactics against Aue, Janßen said: "We need to play with courage and confidence. Against Aue we wanted to disrupt their wide game by changing our system. This week we've practised both systems again. It's a fine line, though, we don't want to let ourselves be pushed back too far." Union sit in fourth spot on 22 points, one place and three points ahead of the Boys in Brown, and their home form has been particularly good. They are unbeaten in five and have scored 14 goals. Yet Janßen said his side would not be intimidated by statistics such as these: "We won't change the way we play that much, even against Union. We'll be focusing on our own game. We go to Berlin to win with all the means at our disposal."

This week training didn't commence until Tuesday, a day later than originally planned. Janßen explained why, saying: "I could see the lads were on their last legs. The long weeks were making themselves felt in the final quarter of an hour against Aue, so sometimes less is more. We had an extra day for recovery to allow the lads to recharge their batteries." This has had no effect on the preparations for Saturday's game, however. "It's been a very normal week as far as the intensity in training is concerned."

Photo: Witters