FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on…

...the injury to Nikola Vasilj and other casualties: Unfortunately, Nico injured his finger in training the day before yesterday. He'll undergo surgery today and will be out of action until further notice. He was very down as he was looking forward to the start of the season, as we all are. As far as Adam Dźwigała is concerned, I hope he'll be able to take part in training again today. Unfortunately, we came out of the Kiel game with two casualties in Etienne Amenyido and David Nemeth, but they're making very good progress. Apart from that, we've come through pre-season OK. The rest of the squad is fit and ready and looking forward to the Nürnberg game."

...the choice of captain: "I'll inform the squad about the decision first, but before I do that we will speak to the players' committee from where the captain will emerge. First and foremost, it's important we spread the responsibility over several shoulders. We have lads who are willing and able to take on responsibility and also have the experience."

...the question of whether his young team is like a "lucky bag": I wouldn't call us a "lucky bag". There'll be lots of players on the pitch against Nürnberg who played last season and have experience. We have a good foundation to fall back on. We lost a few players, like we do every year, but I'm happy for the players who are here now, players who have the chance to play at the Millerntor and write their own history. We know they can and must develop in certain situations. We accept that, and are happy to do so. That will always be how we do things. We'll put a strong team out on Saturday."

...choosing his attack: "The lads are all very different, for us it's about seeing what fits best together, what form the lads are in, who we have the confidence in to start and who can have an impact from the bench."

...the short close season: "Every coach would like more time for preparation but we're well set for the opening game, even though we need and want to improve over the course of the season. We go into the Nürnberg game having prepared well and are happy to start at home against decent opposition."

...the promotion race: "The league is very balanced this year, in both directions. We'll focus on ourselves and know we have to develop and make progress, especially up front. For us, the next game will always be the most important one, it was the same last season. We want to win games and give our fans something to shout about. On Saturday we'll see what emerges against Nürnberg."

...Saturday's opponents: "They're a very compact side, as they showed last season. For much of the campaign, they were the team with the lowest number of goals conceded, and they’ve bolstered their forward line with the acquistion of Kwadwo Duah and Christoph Daferner. I think Nürnberg know how good they are. They have the aspiration to challenge at the top. It'll be a tough ask to start the season with, but I'm convinced we've strengthened well and will give Nürnberg a good run for their money here at the Millerntor. They'll have to really stretch themselves if they want to get a result here."

...the special atmosphere at the Millerntor: All the players, both young and old, are looking forward to playing in front of a capacity crowd. Our new signings know what to expect and know all about the atmosphere. We want to exploit it. We want to harness the energy the fans can give us. The new players, in particular, need to soak it up, but that also goes for the players who were here last season. We'll enjoy the situation and soak up all the energy we can. The fans can give us an extra lift, especially when things aren't going so well. That can be a deciding factor."


Photos: Witters