FC St. Pauli

...the conditions: “The pitch is good. The necessary preparations were made to ensure the turf is in optimum condition and capable of withstanding the odd shower or two. My first impressions of the hotel are good as well. It’s important that the food and the beds are good. We’re here to lay the foundations for the new season, not to be pampered.“

...the focus of the camp: “We want to develop stress factors. That means our opponents have no time or rest on the ball and we’re able to switch from defence to attack by creating pressing situations. We then have to get into good positions and have solutions at our disposal. That will be the focus of the training camp and so we’ll be working on our fitness as well.“

...potential new signings: “We’ll definitely add another one or two but I can’t say when. There are a lot of factors in play but it doesn’t make me nervous. You obviously want to complete your squad as soon as possible because you have to work on your patterns, but I’m not complaining. The most important thing is to keep cool. If we do something, it has to improve the quality we have and so you need to be patient. But now I’m focusing on the lads and working with them.“

...other camp activities: “I don’t have any say in the leisure programme. I think it’s better when it comes from the players rather than me deciding we’ll go hiking or rafting. What’s the point of a team building exercise if a lot of the lads aren’t interested? Ultimately, the mood in the camp and the way it unfolds depends on the performances on the pitch. We want to do some good work here.“

Photo: Witters