FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on…

…the extra competition for places as players return from injury: "We have a very big group in training at the moment, including some players who've been out for three or four months. You can't make that up in seven to ten days. We do have more options now, but we have to look at it very closely. We have three matches in eight days coming up, and as a coach you know you're going to need more than 11 or 12 players."

…changes to the side: "When you play well, you always give it a lot of thought before changing anything, as was the case after the Kiel game when we made just one change because Sebastian Ohlsson was back from suspension. You sometimes have a reason because the opposition have something special or you have the feeling in training that a different player is staking a claim for himself or another is lacking a bit freshness. I'll delay a decision until after the last two training sessions, but there won't be as many changes as there were after the Fürth game."

Timo Schultz will delay a decision on his starting lineup until after the last two training sessions.

…the chance to climb out of the drop zone: "It doesn't really make sense to look at what other teams are doing. We're the best example of that. There are so many games we haven't won. Thanks to all the draws, however, one win would put us back in contention and a second would see us climb another place. We have to focus on ourselves and win our games. We know what we have to do to win. That's the decisive thing. We know anything is possible in this league. I don't think it's a given that HSV and Bochum will win their games comfortably because the teams they are playing have a plan as well."

…Jahn Regensburg: "They're a well-oiled, compact and dynamic team who've been playing on the same high level in the second division for years. They've already collected 20 points and deservedly so. They're an extremely awkward team to play against. They often operate in a 4-4-2 with little space between the lines, lots of depth and lots of pressure on the ball. There are no real weaknesses, so it's a tough ask for us, but recently we've shown that we're awkward opponents who can play at pace and have answers with the ball. It could be a good game at the Millerntor."

…the season so far: "The sense of togetherness we've shown – both within in the squad and in and around the club – has definitely been a positive. You can't take that for granted in such a difficult time. We've been given loads of encouragement. The desire and mentality in the team has been another positive. Even though we're sometimes too quiet on the pitch, I've seen how the lads are going flat out in training and constantly trying to pick themselves up and go again. It's crucial for me as a coach that we have a good foundation as far as our work ethic is concerned. Results have often been a negative, of course. We simply haven't been good enough on occasions or haven't had the luck on our side on others. The key things for me is that we can look to the future in a positive frame of mind having conducted a very good internal analysis with points that haven't gone well and points we want to change. I get the feeling things are changing for the better. Often, it's only small things, but lots of small things sometimes make something much bigger. I'm optimistic that things are headed in the right direction."

Photos: Witters