FC St. Pauli

...the personnel situation: Sören Ahlers has resumed full training and will be on the bench at Hannover if he's able to play a full part in the final two sessions, and Marcel Beifus is eligible to play again. Everyone else is fit, as against Nürnberg. Regarding David Nemeth and Etienne Amenyido, I have a slight hope that they’ll be back working on the ball next week and thus able to take the next step towards returning to full training."

...the injury to assistant coach Loïc Favé: "He's got a muscle injury in his calf. I expect him to have some problems for a few days and feel some pain. Other assistant coaches had similar injuries a few weeks ago and were running around with a big shoe on. I'm the only one who's stable (laughs and knocks on the table three times)."

...Betim Fazliji, who signed just before the Nürnberg game: I've come to know him as a very pleasant person and a great player with real quality on the ball. During the week he's done exactly what we expected of him on the training ground. He's really good, especially on the ball, and his direct "punch" in the challenge is outstanding."

...the misunderstandings between Dennis Smarsch and Jakov Medić: "We always analyse the entire game and so that includes the opposition chances. On the one hand, Nürnberg hit some very good balls, so there were some 50-50 situations between Dennis and Jakov where we could have done better - with better communication or better division of responsibilities. Things like that happen during a game, it's a dynamic process and decisions are made. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong. We're working on making more right decisions than wrong ones."

...the two defeats against Hannover last season: The second game with the two missed penalties was a weird one. We could have played for another hour without scoring. It’s a new season now and Hannover have a new team and a new coach. We know they're a good team who may not have gelled yet. It's going to be an even game and we want to drag it in our favour with a good performance."

...opponents Hannover 96: "They're a really good footballing side. Coach Stefan Leitl is trying to transfer the way he played at Fürth to Hannover. For us, it's important to stay focused on ourselves. That's always served us well. We did many things well against Nürnberg, but we also saw some things that could be improved. We'll also have a look at what Hannover do here and there, of course."

...possible changes to the starting lineup: "If you look at the performance, the approach and the result against Nürnberg, I can reveal that there won't be too many changes. There are two or three positions that were up for grabs before the Nürnberg game. We're now thinking about what suits Hannover, who's in form, who’s doing well in training well and who’s staking a claim. We aren't a hundred percent certain in all eleven positions."

Photos: Witters