FC St. Pauli

Philipp Treu on…

…the hard-earned victory against Braunschweig: "It was a great team performance. Keeping a clean sheet is the bedrock and a single goal will obviously be enough then. The desire to defend the way we did a man down was remarkable. It felt like we defended better in the last 25 minutes. I always try to surpass myself in matches and give more than 100 per cent. My style of play is to give my all in attacking the ball. When you're a man down and win a tackle, the ovation you get from the crowd is huge, which is an awesome feeling."

…the dismissal of Elias Saad: "You could see Elias was a bit dejected when he got sent off, but the whole team went over to give him a lift. That's what makes us stand out. We rally round as a team and try to make the best of it. All the players are incredibly well prepared."

…the new pitch at the Kollau: "We're really looking forward to the new pitch, even though the second pitch is getting better as well. Huge compliments to the groundstaff, who've seemingly been working day and night to renew the turf."

…the top-of-the-table matchup with Kiel: "We've earned it through hard work, though for me the Braunschweig game was a top fixture as well. Every game in this league is tight, as we saw at Magdeburg. There are no pushovers, on the contrary. We have another tough nut to crack in Kiel, but we're ready and aim to beat them on Friday. It was first against second against Fürth and HSV as well. We'll take that, it's a cool snapshot for us, and if we win, all the better. Things will continue as normal, though, whatever happens, and we'll come up against teams who'll make it just as difficult."

Philipp Treu under challenge from Philipp Sander in what was a comfortable home win.

…his own progress: "It's a bit surreal sometimes. My parents are incredibly proud and can hardly fathom it. St. Pauli showed me the way in summer and I'm trying to work on my game every day to develop as a player. If I had to assess myself, I'd say I've made a very good job of it. I've learned a lot of new things that I'm trying to put into practice. For me it's a privilege to play in front of 30,000 cheering fans at the Millerntor. I don't mind running up and down my side of the pitch then. Working with the team is so much fun, and if I can do my bit, it gives me even more pleasure. I do feel a certain lightness and naturalness, but you always have to emphasise the other players on the pitch who help you. For me as a young player that's a great help."

…his dream of playing in the Bundesliga: "The Bundesliga is a dream at some point. Let's see if it happens next year. That remains to be seen. Before all that we have a tough game against Kiel."

…the contract situation of Fabian Hürzeler: "No one in the squad is talking about that. We keep going as normal and the work we do is as meticulous as ever."

Photos: Witters/FC St. Pauli