FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on…

...the personnel situation: Leart Paqarada resumed training during the week. We'll have to await the sessions today and tomorrow to see if he's an option for the weekend. Jackson Irvine had a minor problem with his foot and had a break yesterday. I hope it's nothing serious. Otherwise, everything's the same as last week. Everyone came through what was a high-intensity game against Heidenheim reasonably well. There were a few kicks and knocks, but nothing that could disrupt the weekend. On the contrary, the boys took a lot of energy from the game."

...hoping for an improvement in his side's finishing: "When you're not scoring, you have to keep your belief and try to build your confidence with a goal or two in training. I'm not going to ban our defenders and midfielders from scoring either. Our strikers take on a lot of responsibility and work hard to press the ball. They make a huge contribution. We defend and we attack as a team. If a striker tees up a centre-back, the goal's just as good for me as if it were the other way round. I see how the lads are working in training and I'm sure we'll be firing on all cylinders again soon and more goals will follow."

...the positives of keeping a clean sheet against Heidenheim: It's a good feeling when the referee blows his whistle and you haven't conceded. I was happy with the way we worked in the preceding weeks as well. Only Karlsruhe have a lower xG against than us. We've allowed the fewest attempts on goal this season. As a coach, you then obviously ask yourself why we've conceded again. When I look at how the boys have conducted themselves and pressed the ball, it's been really good in most games. For me it's important to reinforce this trend and to believe we've done a lot right in this area. I'm sure it will pay off in the long run. The key against Heidenheim was the way we clawed and bit. Every player was on his toes, and they all pushed each other. We need more of that behaviour every week."

...Eintracht Braunschweig and their style of play: "They're a good team with fast sprinters and like to switch the play quickly. Ultimately, it's down to us to restrict the number of opportunities they get to break by not giving the ball away as much and by being in the right place with the right personnel. It's sure to be a sell-out and Braunschweig will come out with all their power and their quality. Nevertheless, we're going there to win. We're upbeat and have shown we're all pulling together recently. Imposing ourselves on the game and performing as a team will be the key to success for us at Braunschweig. Another key factor will be the need for us to be on the limit as far as basics such as intensity, hard running and sprinting ability are concerned. We're a really good football team when we do that."

Photos: Witters