FC St. Pauli

Nikola Vasilj on…

...working with goalkeeper coach Marco Knoop: "I've improved a lot, especially my technique with the ball at my feet, but also tactically when it comes to finding the gaps and spaces we want to operate in. We analyse every team we play and try to find the best solutions. As you'll have seen, our philosophy is to play out from the back and that's where I've improved the most. I like being the eleventh outfield player instead of staying between the posts."

...conceding four in the derby: "It was annoying because we lost to our rivals because of them. I drew a line under it quite quickly, though. We started focusing on our next game straightaway and that's why we won it."

...the changes in the second half of the season: "Our style of play has changed. Thanks to the work with Marco, I've improved a lot. The whole team has improved, we've made progress in many areas, both up front and at the back."

...his current form: "I think I'm in the best form of my career. I've never felt better. At the moment I feel very complete when I'm playing, though I want to keep improving."

...the season so far: "It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, especially when you consider where we were at Christmas and where we are now. The bottom line is we've made a substantial improvement and we can be very pleased with that."

...the four-game run-in: "Anything is possible in football, but we're taking each game as it comes. We obviously want to win as many games as possible and we'll see where we end up. We can be proud of what we've achieved so far. We've made a big improvement in the second half of the season and we're obviously happy to be so well placed four games before the end of the season. It feels really good."

...playing for Nürnberg II against FC Pipinsried and Fabian Hürzeler: "I remember one game at Pipinsried well. It was one of the worst games for me. I had loads to do, they must have had 20 attempts on goal or more. We ended up losing 4-0 or 4-1 (Eds: It was only 3-0)."

...the upcoming game at leaders Darmstadt: "It's a big ask, but I'm ready. We want to win our last few games and that means take three points at Darmstadt. To do that, we'll need to maintain the stability we've shown in the second half of the season."

...the European Championship qualifiers with Bosnia and Herzegovina: "I expect us to finish behind Portugal. I think we have a good chance. It’s us against Slovakia. Unfortunately, we lost our second qualifying match against them, but I’m optimistic because we have the quality to finish second. It would be fantastic to go to the European Championship in Germany with the national team for the first time. It’s a dream of mine."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters