FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on…

...the personnel situation: "Christopher Buchtmann won't be available and there's still a question mark over Sebastian Ohlsson, who has a problem with his hip flexor. Afeez Aremu and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh will hopefully be able to put their boots on again in the next few days and ease their way back into full training. In Jackson Irvine, only one player was away on international duty. He played in both games but came away unscathed and slept all the way back on the plane. I expect him to be an option for us at the weekend."

...the battle for places in central defence: "It's always about peak performance in every position. We have three excellent players in central defence and James Lawrence and Jakov Medić have contested the last two games. We'll see from weekend to weekend. As a coach, you're obviously going to look very closely at how the players are performing in training and in matches and consider who has the most to offer the team."

...the record in the last four league games with just two points for the Boys in Brown and three for Paderborn: "The last three or four games aren't that relevant. It's going to be a great scrap. Both teams like to get forward. Both want to score goals and have stood for spectacular football this season. We're looking forward to the game and want to win it. The lads are up for it and are working well in training. We're focused on taking three points. We're a tight-knit group and are concentrating on our day-to-day work and thus on the things we are able to influence."

...opponents Paderborn: "In Florent Muslija and Philipp Klement they have added two excellent players who allow them to operate with a midfield diamond. They're a very balanced side who are flexible tactically both in defence and attack. We'll be paying special attention to the situations when they're in transition. They're a top team who made some outstanding additions during the winter break. Losing Sven Michel is like us losing Daniel-Kofi Kyereh. He's an exceptional player who's right up there in terms of goals and assists. Sven Michel will do any team good. For us, the problem has only been put back not eliminated because we'll be seeing him again in the DFB Cup after all."

...his personal record against Paderborn of three defeats in three games: "All three games had their own story. With no points so far, I obviously want to improve my own record against them, and we've ended lots of runs in the time I've been here. We start at 0-0 on Saturday evening, so my own run is not that important. We all want to take the three points on offer."

Photos: Witters