FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on…

...the personnel: "We have lots and lots of question marks. Several players have minor injuries and are doubtful. Maximilian Dittgen has resumed training but isn't 100% yet. The same goes for Philipp Ziereis, Etienne Amenyido and Sebastian Ohlsson. There's also a slight question mark over Daniel-Kofi Kyereh. We'll have to see if he can train today, but I am optimistic. On the other hand, Afeez Aremu is fully fit and an option for the squad. James Lawrence has a back problem, can't train and is thus ruled out. If both Lawrence and Ziereis are unavailable, Adam Dźwigała and Marcel Beifus will be first choice. I can see it working very well with the two of them. Adam certainly has more experience and has had a few more starts in the second division, though as we saw at Regensburg, Marcel is very good both in the air and on the ground and a player with lots of confidence."

...the promotion race and potential hot favourites: "It's so tight at the top. It's too early to pick out any hot favourites from the six teams in contention. As is always the case during a season, some teams are going through a decent spell at the moment, while others were more consistent in the first half of the campaign. It will be decided in March and April when we enter the home straight. If you're still in the race then, it could be a nice finish to the season."

...the gradual return to full capacity: "I've always said that as far as I'm concerned there should be as many fans as possible in the ground provided it's safe. I can't imagine anything nicer than to have the Millerntor sold out in the closing stages of the season after gradually stepping things up. Most of my players haven't experienced it yet, and neither have my assistant coaches. We're all longing for the day when the Millerntor is sold out again."

...opponents Hannover 96: "They're definitely more effective now under Christoph Dabrowski. They like to play with two holding midfielders, one striker and quick wingers and they're extremely solid at the back. Along with Heidenheim, they have the lowest xG against. They're a side with lots of experienced players who have played in the top flight. They'll have wanted the season to go better, of course, but they've steadied the ship recently and have been picking up points. They still have to keep looking over their shoulders, but they're in the ascendency now."

...the last home win over Hannover almost 28 years ago: "We've ended a few runs already so let's add another one straight to that list (he grins). I hadn't heard that stat before, but I'm no fan of this kind of statistic. I'm not interested. We'll go into the game with the intention of winning it. We've done pretty well at the Millerntor so far, after all."


Photos: Witters