FC St. Pauli

"The lads made a positive impression," said Kauczinski after training resumed this morning. Before setting off for a ten-day training camp in Alhaurin el Grande near Malaga, his players underwent a blood lactate test at a local indoor athletics centre. The results will be available some time tomorrow.

Kauczinski felt the timing of the two-week break, which he referred to as an "extended weekend", was just about right: "It gave the lads a chance to take a breather and recuperate without losing much ground. We can carry on right where we left off. The weather in Spain is good, as are the pitches where we'll train, so I'm really looking forward to the conditions there."

Christopher Buchtmann, Ryo Miyaichi and Marc Hornschuh will not make the trip to southern Spain. Hornschuh, who remains dogged by a back problem, will continue his rehab in the US. "Marc has been suffering for a while now and we feel the rehab in a different setting will do him good," explained Kauczinski, who will no longer have Patrick Westermann at his side. The assistant coach has left the club at his own request and will not be replaced for the time being. "We're a strong team and will absorb the loss together," said Kauczinski. "We'll see how we deal with it, but we're in a position to move fast if we need to."

Moving fast will not be the name of the game when it comes to new signings. "We're patient and won't do anything rash, and that goes for the financial side of things as well," he added. "It has to be the right fit and someone who'll be of use to the team. I've experienced it all in football. Sometimes it goes quickly, sometimes it drags on. I'm in touch with director of sport Uwe Stöver every day and so I'm always up to speed. And if we don't get the desired addition up front, I won't have a problem with it, on the contrary. We've got a good team with the ability to do well in the second half of the season."

The league campaign resumes with a trip to Dynamo Dresden on Thursday, 25 January (2030 CET) where the Boys in Brown will attempt to build on the last few performances before the winter break. "I saw a lot of good things in those games," said Kauczinski. The lads showed lots of determination, desire and passion."

The St. Pauli boss will place the focus on build-up play, pressing, switching the play, and set pieces at training camp. "I want to see the things we work on in Spain on the pitch against decent opposition," he explained, looking ahead to the warm-up matches against VfL Wolfsburg and Tianjin Quanjian. "I'll be able to see all the players under pressure there and that's important," he added.

Christopher Avevor missed training due to illness today and it remains to be seen whether he will be on the plane tomorrow morning. Lasse Sobiech, who also sat out today's blood lactate test after sustaining an ankle injury in the final outing before the winter break, should be able to resume training soon, however, according to Kauczinski.

Meanwhile Philipp Ziereis will resume full training after seven months out with injury. "He's shown that he's an above-average second-division player," said Kauczinski. "We'll have to see how quickly we can build him up and how quickly he can find his rhythm. He might be given the occasional day off."

Photos: Witters