FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on...

…the personnel situation: "The training ground is slowly filling up. The players who've been out a long time are back. The Viborg game was a great opportunity for Sebastian Ohlsson, Eric Smith, Etienne Amenyido and Igor Matanović to get some match practice at a very high level. Lukas Daschner and Franz Roggow have also returned to training. The group is getting bigger and bigger, which is good. Some of them won't have enough power for 90 minutes, of course, but we definitely have a few more options. We eased Leart Paqarada back in this week and I expect he'll be able to train normally today and will be available at the weekend.

...being spoilt for choice in attack: "I don't really care who gets the goals (he laughs). The lads all want to play, they all want playing time. They're at completely different stages of development, so we'll see what makes sense and what doesn't. We have a lot of players with different strengths, which makes us a genuine force to be reckoned with. That's good to know as a coach."

...the long break and the upcoming busy week: "First of all, I'm glad the Sandhausen game was scheduled the way it was because it's the best possible scenario for us. We have enough time to recover between the games. You don't have to start by saying there'll be a lot of rotation. On the other hand, lots of players are fully fit again, so we have more options. You can expect us to change the formation in a three-match week. I'm glad I have so many alternatives. We'll need all our players in such a busy week."

...opponents Darmstadt 98: "I think the fans can look forward to a very attacking game in front of a sell-out crowd. Darmstadt are the only team who have scored more than we have. They have outstanding players in their strike pairing of Luca Pfeiffer and Phillip Tietz, that's for sure. We know what we're up against. Darmstadt had a shaky start, which was partly down to some Covid infections, but they've recovered really well. You have to congratulate my colleague on a top team and a top season. We'll have to work hard to be competitive, but we go to Darmstadt looking to get three points."

...our own style of play: " One key to success will be preventing their wide players from getting going. We have to stay close and win the ball back immediately in the first phase after losing possession. We want to be bold going forward and take risks in possession again. That's what's made us stand out recently, but maybe it will backfire at some point. So far, we've done well tracking back, but our gegenpressing has been hit and miss. That's been a focus this week and we hope it'll work at Darmstadt."

Photos: Witters