FC St. Pauli

The second-division action paused for the fifth and final time last week, paving the way for the beginning of the end-of-season run-in this weekend. A "cool schedule" was how striker Guido Burgstaller referred to the seven remaining games. The sense of anticipation ahead of the run-in is huge. It begins with a tough ask at Hansa Rostock, who are the form team at the moment after winning their last three games. Jens Härtel's side have picked up vital points in the relegation battle just recently and will be looking to secure more against the Boys in Brown in their bid to reach safety. Former St. Pauli man John Verhoek has had a big hand in the home side's upturn in fortunes, scoring in each of the recent wins against Schalke (4-3), Kiel (3-2) and Sandhausen (1‑0) to take his tally to 15 goals for the season. Rostock have climbed from 16^th to 11^th place in that time, opening up a six-point gap to the relegation play-off spot in the process.

Rostock are not the only in-form side, however. The Schultz XI have taken ten out of a possible 12 points since the bitterly disappointing 3-0 home defeat against Hannover 96 to return to the top of the table. A win at Rostock will help them consolidate top spot, of course, and the signs are more than good, given that the Boys in Brown have won five in a row against Saturday's opponents, including a 4-0 drubbing in the reverse fixture. Hansa's last victory dates back to September 2008. The overall head-to-head record is a strange one, however, as none of the previous 19 meetings has ended in a draw, with Rostock enjoying a slight edge with 10 wins to our nine. None of the foregoing will play a role on Saturday, though, as Timo Schultz pointed out in the run-up, saying: "We start from scratch again."

To get the best-possible preparation going into the run-in, Schultz changed the procedure compared with the previous four international breaks, going without a friendly game and instead giving his players three days off to take their minds off things, something Burgstaller said had done the players good mentally. Schultz made the change because his teams did not come out of the previous international breaks very well. "It was noticeable that the results weren't good and we were lacking a bit of freshness," said Schultz, reflecting on a 1-0 defeat at Hannover, a 4-2 win at Heidenheim, albeit after a very poor first-half showing, a 4-0 reverse at Darmstadt and 2-2 draw with Paderborn after the previous international breaks.

"We drew our conclusions and adjusted our procedures," Schultz continued. "I'm convinced it will give us the perfect preparation for the Rostock game. St. Pauli against Rostock is always something special," said Schultz, who is expecting "a rough ride" on the Baltic coast. But with another good performance the Boys in Brown are aiming to stay in the saddle and take all three points back to Hamburg.

Photos: Witters