FC St. Pauli

Marcel Hartel on…

...the birth of his daughter: "It's a beautiful occasion, a lovely experience. A new chapter has begun for my wife and me. Everything's great. My daughter was born healthy and my wife is doing well. We didn't get much sleep in the beginning, but now there's a rhythm between me and my wife on how we manage everything. It's working very well, my wife's doing a great job."

...new signings Peter Németh, Karol Mets, Elias Saad, Oladapo Afolayan and Maurides: "It's a good mix. They all have their qualities, as they’ll show. The lads have settled in and are working well. I already knew Peter Németh from before, I appreciate his work and his manner. I know what he’s capable of and where his focus lies. I know he'll develop every individual player sooner or later."

...the good performances and results in the warm-up matches: "We can take a lot from the games, especially confidence. We managed to put the things we've practised in training into action on the pitch and can go into the Nürnberg game feeling confident."

...his changed role in the new system: "My role is a bit more defensive now, but you can liven the position up with attacking actions. You just have to communicate well with your partner. If one is attacking, the other has to cover. When Jacko (eds: Jackson Irvine) goes forward, like he did against Midtjylland, I cover for him. It’s working well, each of us keeps an eye out for the other."

...the increased battle for places: "We don't have many injured players, almost everyone's on the training ground and you notice it, too. The battle for places is on and that's what makes the job what it is. Everyone has to go to the limit to get a game. In my view, the lads who didn't start against Midtjylland and might not start at Nürnberg are doing really well. Everyone has gone full throttle during the break. We're a team, we'll give our all for each other".

...targets for the second half of the season: "We want to get back on track as a team and have a better second half than the first. We've made good progress during the preparations and developed as a team. I'm optimistic for the rest of the season."

...the resumption at Nürnberg: "There's something at stake again, there are points up for grabs. That's why we play football. We're all fired up and ready to go flat out. Nürnberg lost their last warm-up match but they'll be really motivated going into the game. Like us, they'll throw everything at it in search of success. I'm expecting an exciting game and I hope we'll come out on top. We'll give our all to come back from Nürnberg to Hamburg with a win."

Photos: Witters