FC St. Pauli

...their summary of the 2017/18 season

Markus Kauczinski: "I'm left with mixed feelings. We can't be satisfied, but we can breathe easily again because we managed to get our act together. The season was a real rollercoaster ride. Our performances were up and down. After good starts before and after the winter break, we had some indifferent performances followed by a strong phase with the games against Nürnberg until Kiel. We then had another poor patch before finishing with a decent run-in. We can't be happy with some of our showings, but we did have good games as well for which we have no reason to be ashamed."

...the dramatic finale

Markus Kauczinski: "There were lots of teams who went into the season with lofty ambitions and didn't expect to be fighting relegation until the final day. We were in good company there. It shows what a tricky league it is because anything's possible. You're never safe, you have to be on your guard all the time. It's always a battle and we fought hard."

...the attitude of the players

Uwe Stöver: "After the Regensburg game we were almost on the precipice. Then, at the latest, I had the feeling that absolutely everyone understood. The things we'd been belting out like a mantra had sunk in. We had two high-intensity weeks where we got it together. In the two home games that followed we put in a huge effort and managed to avoid the worst-case scenario. You saw what we need to be successful. We have to be honest enough to say we didn't show that for long periods during the season."

...the last two home games against Fürth and Bielefeld

Uwe Stöver: "We must strive to contest our home games on the level we approached these matches. The signals from the team were there from the first minute.hen they electrify the fans by showing the appropriate commitment on the pitch, it's reflected back. It's important for the players to show basic qualities such as passion and desire. You need these qualities when you get to a certain level, otherwise you won't make any progress."

...the conclusions to be drawn for the new season

Uwe Stöver: "We'll make some selective changes. How many, we'll have to wait and see. We're keeping our eyes and ears open for all sections of the team and are in intensive talks with potential new signings. Mentality, team spirit, identification and application are key components for us."

Markus Kauczinski: "We'll analyse this season and see what we can do better and where players have potential for improvement. We know we don't want to continue as we are. Whether we change behaviours or seek reinforcements for the squad, what's clear is that we need more consistency in our performances. In games that were teetering on a knife-edge like the ones against Kaiserslautern and Sandhausen, we failed to take advantage of some key moments. We have to find players capable of deciding games, but we'll also be reviewing our approach to training to ensure we do better."

Photos: Witters