FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on…

...the week in training and the personnel situation: "Everyone's on board. Adam Dźwigała has started doing running work and also a little bit with the ball. Otherwise, all the players are fit, which is very pleasing. We've had a very good week in training and still have two sessions to go in which we aim to add the final touches and freshness. Then we'll hope for a good away performance."

...Fürth's style of play: "They've played some thrilling football at times, especially against Kiel on the opening day when they worked up an incredible head of steam going forward. Fürth’s position in the table doesn't reflect the amount of effort they’ve put in. The game at Kaiserslautern, when they could have been three, four or five up by half-time but ended up losing, is a typical example of that. They've played well and had some excellent spells in matches. In the long run, they'll enjoy more success. They're variable in attack and have good individual quality. We'll need to be wide awake but will also have a chance to threaten ourselves in transition on winning possession. On the one hand, we'll have to be on our guard, but on the other we're confident enough to believe we can keep them at bay, dictate the play ourselves and get the away win."

...our own strengths: "We're capable of playing really good football. If we move the ball around and run our patterns, we'll keep creating opportunities in front of goal and scoring. We've made great strides in our transitional play and have also become much better in terms of our grip and defensive cover. In the last few games, however, we've allowed some situations to happen that shouldn't have. We still have some way to go in terms of our defensive stability."

...the hoped-for win at struggling Fürth: We're not in a position to underestimate our opponents and I don't see any danger of that. Fürth are a good side who've just come down from the Bundesliga. It's always hard to get going in a new league. They have a new coach and a newly assembled squad that's relatively young. The problems they're having at the moment haven’t come out of the blue, they were foreseeable. For us, it's important to take advantage of the fact that they haven't got going yet or come together fully as a team. That said, we have to play to our strengths and do what we do best. If we do that, we’re capable of beating anyone in this league."

...potential new signings on transfer deadline day: "I'm very happy with the squad we have. As we keep emphasising, we have one hundred per cent confidence in the lads - from front to back. If someone joins us, they'll be very welcome. I'm the coach and I look after the lads who are here. Everything else remains to be seen."

Photos: Witters