FC St. Pauli

Johannes Eggestein on…

…defeat in the derby: "We were obviously disappointed not to have done the things we set out to do, especially in attack. Defensively the performance was OK. When you leave the house in the morning, you always see a few fans. There's much more happening and everyone's looking forward to the game. The atmosphere in the ground is sensational, with both sets of fans making loads of noise. These games are the reason we play and these are the games you work towards, so it's all the more saddening to lose. We've put it behind us now, though, and are preparing for Osnabrück."

…the mental aspect at the business end of the season: "The mental side has been a factor at times and we've talked about it, but I think we've come out of that phase now. I had the feeling we were thinking too much in the games leading up to the derby, but against HSV it was more a case of us not seeing through the solutions we'd prepared before the game and not being good enough in one or two aspects. It wasn't that our minds were elsewhere, though. We were really well prepared for the derby. The mental side won't be such a factor in the next couple of games. It'll be more about being better than Osnabrück and finding better solutions and if we do that, I do believe we'll beat them."

…how studying psychology will help him in the run-in: "Individually I can work with it very well and pass some things on the other players. Not in the way we communicate but in the way we conduct ourselves and perform and the presence we have. That's important to me and I want to lead by example and give guidance in the final phase."

Johannes Eggestein and Co. are targeting three points in the final home game of the league campaign.

…the matchup between Holstein Kiel and Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday night: "An exciting game that lots of people are sure to watch. My focus is on the preparations for our game and watching a bit of football in the evening is a part of that. The game is of direct relevance for us, which obviously makes it more exciting, but I'll be sticking to my own preparations because we have a very important game."

…the various promotion scenarios: "Going up is the main priority and if Kiel beat Düsseldorf at the weekend, we'll take it with pleasure, no question about that. We also have other goals we want to achieve, though that's for the future. The task now is to focus on ourselves. If we do that, it should work and then we don't need to look at what other teams are doing."

Johannes Eggestein has mixed feelings when he thinks back to the reverse fixture at Osnabrück.

…his memories of the first game against Osnabrück: "It was a good atmosphere and a really poor pitch, if I recall correctly. And only getting a draw was not enough. We didn't play too badly in the first half. We had a few chances and took the lead, but we were unlucky to concede an equaliser and we let the game slip away a bit then. We learned our lessons from that. We played them again during our winter training camp. They have some very quick players up front, are good in transition and keep things very tight, so we'll need a good rest defence. We have to see our attacks through to the end and make sure we don't give the ball away too easily."

Photos: Witters