FC St. Pauli

...the injury situation: “Little has changed. David Nemeth and Jakov Medić remain sidelined, but Niklas Jessen has resumed training and I think Franz Roggow will be back this week or next. This week we’ve had to manage the workload of some of the guys who’ve seen a lot of action recently, but in general every other player should be available for Düsseldorf and the two matches next week.

...rotating his starting XI: “We’ve already changed things a couple of times, especially in our approach to our system. I think the flexibility we’ve shown in our last three games can make us a touch more unpredictable. I’m happy to have enough alternatives for the busy schedule to come. We may well rotate a little, given we’re missing some players we could have done with, but everything in moderation. We’ll see how training goes and how fresh everyone is. We have three games in a week left to go and we’ll need every player."

...waiting for that elusive away win: “It’s time we did something about our away record, though we have lacked luck in some games. At Regensburg we could have opened the scoring, but instead we had a dubious penalty given against us that turned the game in a negative direction. At Bielefeld we were the better side for long periods but failed to claim our reward. You obviously think about things like that but there’s nothing concrete we want to change. We do know we have to step up a gear on our travels, though. At home, we’re more likely to get back into a game with the backing of the fans. That said, the imbalance between our home and away form is simply too big, even though we’ve taken steps in the right direction."

...leaders Jackson Irvine and Marcel Hartel: “Both are mature personalities with a lot of footballing experience, which sets them apart from the majority of the squad. Jackson can pass things on to the younger players with his experience of playing for the national team and he does try to exert an influence in conversation with them and with his hard-working approach to training. He’s a great presence on the pitch, especially when things aren’t going so well for us, and he lays down a marker with his tackling, which really is exemplary. Marcel Hartel is a player who wants every ball and rightly so. That’s also a way of taking on responsibility even though he's not the most vocal of players. He’s a go-to guy when things aren’t going so well from a footballing point of view. They’ve both demonstrated their goal threat in their own very different ways. If they keep bringing their qualities to the pitch, you can say they’re two exceptional players."

...the final three games this year: “We know we have ten intensive days in front of us with three huge games, but it doesn’t feel like a run-in. It’s just good to have almost every player in full training. We want to add to our points total without saying how many. Our focus is totally on Düsseldorf for the time being and then we’ll turn our attention to Kiel and Karlsruhe. It’s up to every player to gather their strength and do everything they can to conserve energy off the pitch and prepare for the games in the best possible way. We need everyone. Every player will get game time and will have to be ready when called upon. We obviously miss Jakov and David, but Betim and Adam are doing a really good job. We’ve often spoken about our strength in depth. We have two players in every position and have full confidence in the lads."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters